USA: Class of '07 Steps Up

Jantel Lavender of Cleveland was among eight players from the Class of 2007 who were named to the 2006 USA Women's FIBA Americas U18 Championship Team. Also making the team were 2006's top player, Tina Charles, and the top prospect of 2007, Maya Moore.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The USA Women's FIBA Americas U18 Championship Team named on Monday morning was dominated by the nation's new blood, as the Class of 2007 landed eight of the 12 roster spots.

The '07 players were led by Maya Moore, a Connecticut commit out of Lawrenceville, Ga., and considered the top prospect in her class. Tina Charles, of Jamaica, N.Y., the consensus 2006 player of the year and Moore's future teammate at UConn, also made the team.

Stanford also landed two players - Jayne Appel of Pleasant Hill, Calif., who will play for the Cardinal next season, and Kayla Pedersen of Fountain Hills, Ariz., a 2007 prospect who recently committed to Stanford.

The other 2006 players include Nikitta Gartrell of Atlanta, who is headed to North Carolina State, and Brittainey Raven of Fort Worth, Texas, who will play next season for Texas.

Victoria Baugh of Sacramento; Kelley Cain of Atlanta; Stefanie Gilbreath of Katy, Texas; Jantel Lavender of Cleveland, Ohio; Italee Lucas of Las Vegas and a North Carolina commit, and Khadijah Rushdan of Wilmington, Del., were the other 2007 selections.

Cain, who is 6-feet-6; Appel, 6-5, and Lavender, 6-3, are the team's posts. Baugh, 6-4; Charles, 6-3; Moore, 6-1, and Pedersen, 6-4, are forwards. As expected, Team USA kept three point guards - Gartrell, Lucas and Rushdan. Gilbreath and Raven are the shooting guards, with both Baugh and Pedersen able to play that position in certain situations.

Five alternates were named - Joy Cheek (2006) of Charlotte N.C. and a Duke signee; Amy Jaeschke of Wilmette, Ill.; Danielle Robinson of San Jose, Calif.; Sydney Smallbone of Granger, Ind., who has committed to Tennessee, and Danielle Wilson of Bay Shore, N.Y., who has signed to play with Baylor next season. They will be on call and not practice with the team unless placed on the active roster.

The U.S. will host the FIBA Americas Junior World Championship Qualifier, June 28 to July 2, at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The top four finishers will qualify for the 2007 FIBA U19 Women's World Championship in Bratislava, Slovakia.

2006 USA Women's FIBA Americas U18 Team
NAME	POS	HT	YR	HOMETOWN
Jayne Appel	F	6-5	2006	Pleasant Hill, CA
Victoria Baugh	F	6-4	2007	Sacramento, CA
Kelley Cain	C	6-6	2007	Atlanta, GA
Tina Charles	C	6-3	2006	Jamaica, NY
Nikitta Gartrell	G	5-9	2006	Atlanta, GA
Stefanie Gilbreath	G	6-0	2007	Katy, TX
Jantel Lavender	C	6-3	2007	Cleveland, OH
Italee Lucas	G	5-8	2007	Las Vegas, NV
Maya Moore	F	6-1	2007	Lawrenceville, GA
Kayla Pedersen	G/F	6-4	2007	Fountain Hills, AZ
Brittainey Raven	G	6-0	2006	Fort Worth, TX
Khadijah Rushdan	G	5-9	2007	Wilmington, DE

Alternates
Joy Cheek	F	6-1	2006	Charlotte, NC
Amy Jaeschke	F	6-6	2007	Wilmette, IL
Danielle Robinson	G	5-7	2007	San Jose, CA
Sydney Smallbone	G	5-9	2007	Granger, IN
Danielle Wilson	F/C	6-4	2006	Bay Shore, NY

---

---

Our Complete 2006 USA Basketball U18 Trials Coverage Menu:

USA U18 Trials Gallery
Images from last weekend's USA Basketball trials in Colorado Springs.

Closer Look at Team USA
Player-by-player assessment of USA Basketball U18 team, plus all invitees.

Where are the Shooters?
The USA Basketball U18 trials featured a lot of things, but shooting wasn't one of them.

Our Projected Team USA
HoopGurlz.com takes a crack at picking a USA Basketball U18 team.

2007 Gets the Point
Italee Lucas of Las Vegas leads the top three point guards in 2007 to the rescue of USA Basketball.

Star-Spangled Tryouts
USA Basketball's U18 trials likely will produce a big team.

---