National Team Down To Final 12 Members For FIBA Americas Championship

Courtney Paris, Candace Parker are collegians on roster

Sept. 20, 2007

UNCASVULLE, Conn. (Sept. 20, 2007)--Following a two-week training camp that saw the U.S. capture a pair of exhibition victories over rival Australia, the 2007 USA Basketball Women's FIBA Americas Championship Team, comprised of 12 elite and talented athletes, was announced today by USA Basketball. The squad will compete in the FIBA Americas Championship, slated for Sept. 26-30 in Valdivia, Chile, in hopes of earning the lone Olympic berth from the FIBA Americas zone. Only the gold medalist in the eight-team tournament will advance to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The selections were made by the USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team Committee.

Named to the team were:Seimone Augustus(Minnesota Lynx),Sue Bird(Seattle Storm),Rebekkah Brunson(Sacramento Monarchs),Swin Cash(Detroit Shock),Kara Lawson(Sacramento Monarchs),DeLisha Milton-Jones(Washington Mystics),Courtney Paris(University of Oklahoma),Candace Parker(University of Tennessee),Cappie Pondexter(Phoenix Mercury),Katie Smith(Detroit Shock),Diana Taurasi(Phoenix Mercury) andTina Thompson(Houston Comets).

Additionally,Candice Wiggins(Stanford University / San Diego, Calif.) was named as an alternate and will travel to Chile to train with the squad prior to the FIBA Americas Championship.

"This was a difficult decision to make," said Committee chairRenee Brown, WNBA chief of basketball operations and player relations. "We feel that we have a veteran core group of players who understand how to win the big games, and we're confident that we've selected a team that has the experience, confidence, skills and will to win."

"I thought we had a great training camp that allowed us to build team chemistry," said USA and Seattle Storm head coachAnne Donovan. "Like Reneesaid, it was definitely not an easy decision to make. Every player hustled and contributed in her own way during our training camp. I'm looking forward to the addition of Katie (Smith), Cappie (Pondexter) and Diana (Taurasi) to this already strong group. They'll add a whole new dimension to our team and will help us to achieve our goal, which is to win gold in Chile and, more important, qualify for the Olympics."

Seven of the the 12 players selected for the USA Team were member of last year's USA World Championship Team that garnered bronze.  Augustus, Bird, Milton-Jones, Parker, Smith, Thompson and Taurasi were members of Donovan's 2006 USA World Championship squad.  They also represent the USA's top five scorers at the worlds, and in fact are seven of the team's top eight scorers at the '06 World Championship.

The American roster of 12 also features six players who have Olympic gold medals.  Bird, Cash, Smith, Taurasi and Thompson were members of the 2004 USA Olympic Team that captured gold, while Milton-Jones and Smith were also members of the 2000 U.S. Olympic team that claimed gold.

The USA Women's Senior National Team next heads to Chile Thursday, for its final preparations for the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship. Contested Sept. 26-30, the tournament's gold medal winner will earn one of 12 qualifying berths for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The USA opens against Cuba on Sept. 26, followed by Jamaica on Sept. 27 and closes preliminary round play against Canada on Sept. 28. The top two teams in preliminary Group A, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico, and Group B advance to the Sept. 29 medal semifinals. The gold medal, as well as the right to play in the 2008 Olympics, will be contested Sept. 30.