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 |
|
 |
Glenn Nelson is the publisher of HoopGurlz.com and the editor-in-chief of Scout Media (www.Scout.com), an online sports network and magazine-publishing company and subsidiary of Fox Interactive Media. Glenn also founded and coached
the Dragons and Northwest HoopGurlz select girls basketball teams. He previously was a longtime, national-award-winning basketball columnist and writer for The Seattle
Times. His work also has appeared in several national magazines and books. He is co-author of "Rising Stars: The Ten Best Players in the NBA" (Rosen Publishing, 2002). He can be reached at hoopgurlz@comcast.net.
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.
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