Angel McCoughtry Invited to USA Basketball Trials
May 14, 2007 | Women's Basketball
May 14, 2007
Louisville, Ky. - Louisville All-American Angel McCoughtry is one of 45 elite athletes that have accepted invitations to the 2007 USA Basketball Women's National Team Trials, slated to be held May 17-20 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo. The invitations were issued by the USA Basketball Women's Collegiate Committee, which is chaired by Sue Donohoe, the NCAA's vice president of Division I women's basketball. The Committee is expected to announce finalists for the 2007 USA U21 World Championship Team and the 2007 USA Pan American Games Team on May 20.
McCoughtry finished the 2006-07 averaging 21.5 points and 10.3 rebounds per game this season. She also led the league in steals, averaging 3.5 per game and double-doubles with 19 on the season. She was named a WBCA/Kodak All-American and BIG EAST Player of the Year. She also earned second team Associated Press All-American honors as well as being named an All-American by Basketball Times, Sports Page Magazine.com, and Full Court Press. McCoughtry became just the third player in school history to score 1,000 career points in just two seasons. The sophomore scored her 1,000th career point in the Cardinals' NCAA Tournament win over BYU. She shattered the season scoring record this seasons with 754 points this season.
Also vying to represent the United States this summer at either the FIBA U21 World Championship or Pan American Games are: Jessica Adair (George Washington / Washington, D.C.); Demetress Adams (South Carolina / Bishopville, S.C.); Matee Ajavon (Rutgers / Newark, N.J.); Charel Allen (Notre Dame / Monessen, Pa.); Alex Anderson (Chattanooga / Stone Mountain, Ga.); Jolene Anderson (Wisconsin / Port Wing, Wis.); DeWanna Bonner (Auburn / Fairfield, Ala.); Essence Carson (Rutgers / Paterson, N.J.); Marissa Coleman (Maryland / Cheltenham, Md.); Tanae Davis-Cain (Florida State / Dawson, Ga.); Krystal Ellis (Marquette / Racine, Wis.); Emily Fox (Minnesota / Highlands Ranch, Colo.); Mercedes Fox-Griffin (Oregon State / La Jolla, Calif.); A'Quonesia Franklin (Texas A&M / Tyler, Texas); Megan Frazee (Liberty / Xenia, Ohio); Laura Harper (Maryland / Elkins Park, Pa.); Amber Holt (Middle Tennessee / Duluth, Ga.); Alexis Hornbuckle (Tennessee / Charleston, W.Va.); Charde Houston (Connecticut / San Diego, Calif.); Ashley Houts (Georgia / Trenton, Ga.); Tasha Humphrey (Georgia / Gainesville, Ga.); Briann January (Arizona State / Spokane, Wash.); T.J. Jordan (Old Dominion / Portsmouth, Va.); Crystal Kelly (Western Kentucky / Louisville, Ky.); Crystal Langhorne (Maryland / Willingboro, N.J.); Erlana Larkins (North Carolina / Riviera Beach, Fla.);Rashanda McCants (North Carolina / Asheville, N.C.); Nicole Michael (Syracuse / Queens, N.Y.); Britany Miller (Florida State / Tallapoosa, Ga.); Marscilla Packer (Ohio State / Pickerington, Ohio); Courtney Paris (Oklahoma / Piedmont, Calif.); Ashley Paris (Oklahoma / Piedmont, Calif.); Allie Quigley (DePaul / Joliet, Ill.); Angel Robinson (Georgia / Marietta, Ga.); Dominic Seals (South Plains / Dallas, Texas); Takia Starks (Texas A&M / Houston, Texas); Mel Thomas (Connecticut / Cincinnati, Ohio); Kirsten Thompson (Arizona State / Monroe, Wash.); Kia Vaughn (Rutgers / Bronx, N.Y.); Ashley Walker (California / Modesto, Calif.); Abby Waner (Duke / Highlands Ranch, Colo.); Candice Wiggins (Stanford / San Diego, Calif.); and Earnesia Williams (Texas / Sapulpa, Okla.) and Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton (Purdue / Naperville, Ill.)
The USA will look to defend its world title in this age group, open to athletes 21-years-old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1986), at the 2007 FIBA U21 World Championship, held this year June 29-July 8 in Moscow, Russia. Duke University (N.C.) head coach Joanne McCallie returns as the USA's head coach after piloting the 2006 USA U20 National Team to a gold medal at the 2006 FIBA Americas U20 Championship. She will be assisted by collegiate head coaches Sam Dixon of Furman University (S.C.), an assistant to McCallie last summer, and Arizona State University's Charli Turner Thorne. The USA U21 finalists, named following the USA Trials, will reconvene in Colorado Springs June 12 to begin training for the tournament, and the eventual 12-member team will be named prior to the squad departing for Europe on June 16. The United States was placed in Group B in the 12-nation tournament along with Australia, Brazil, Hungary, Japan and Spain. Group A includes Belgium, Canada, China, Mali, France and Russia.
The Pan American Games women's basketball tournament will be held July 20-24 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and will feature eight national teams from FIBA Americas. Coaching the USA squad will be Temple University (Pa.) head coach Dawn Staley, a 2007-08 USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team assistant coach. Assisting Staley will be collegiate head coaches Kathy Delaney-Smith of Harvard University (Mass.) and Bill Gibbons of College of the Holy Cross (Mass.). The USA Pan Ams finalists named following the USA Trials will reconvene on July 6 in Washington, D.C., and the eventual 12-member squad will be named prior to the team departing for Brazil on July 16.
Trials will feature an opening session on May 17, beginning at 6:30 p.m. (all times MDT); followed by two-a-days May 18-19, with morning sessions tipping-off at 10:00 a.m. and evening sessions at 5:30 p.m.; and an 8:30 a.m. session on May 20. USA Basketball is expected to announce finalists for each team following the morning session on May 20. The 2007 USA U19 National Team Trials will also take place May 17-20 at the USOTC, however, the U19 sessions will take place at different times during the weekend.
