2011 USA Basketball Women’s U19 World Championship Team Trials Set To Tip-Off Sunday

Colorado Springs, Colo. • May 21, 2011

Twenty-three USA Basketball medalists are among 34 of the nation’s top 19-and-under athletes who will arrive in Colorado Springs, Colo., on May 22 to vie for one of 12 spots on the 2011 USA Basketball Women’s U19 World Championship Team. USA U19 World Championship Team selections will be made by the USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Team Committee, chaired by Sue Donohoe, NCAA vice president for Division I women’s basketball.

Trials to select team finalists will be held May 22-25 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center’s (USOTC) Sports Center II. The first session will take place beginning at 4:30 p.m. (all times MDT) on Sunday, May 22. There will be two sessions each day on May 23 and May 24, with the morning session tipping-off at 8:30 a.m. and the afternoon session starting at 4:00 p.m. The announcement of up to 16 team finalists will be made in the morning of May 25.

The USA U19 World Championship Team will be led by the University of Hartford’s Jennifer Rizzotti, with assistant coaches Sue Semrau of Florida State University and Joi Williams of the University of Central Florida.

Additionally, Kenya Larkin-Landers (Trinity Valley Community College, Texas) and Mark Youngs (Davenport University, Mich.) have been selected court coaches and will assist during trials.

Only U.S. citizens who are 19 years old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1992) are eligible for the 2011 USA Basketball Women’s U19 World Championship Team.

Expected to arrive on Sunday to try out for the 2011 USA U19 World Championship Team are: Jordan Adams (Mater Dei H.S. / Irvine, Calif.); Cierra Burdick (Butler H.S. / Matthews, N.C.); Briyona Canty (Trenton Catholic Academy / Willingboro, N.J.); Diamond DeShields (Norcross H.S. / Norcross, Ga.); Stefanie Dolson (Connecticut / Port Jervis, N.Y.); Aaryn Ellenberg (Oklahoma / Las Vegas, Nev.); Chassidy Fussell (Texas / Troy, Tenn.); Karla Gilbert (Texas A&M / College Station, Texas); Bashaara Graves (Clarksville H.S. / Clarksville, Tenn.); Bria Hartley (Connecticut / North Babylon, N.Y.); Justine Hartman (Brea Olinda H.S. / Brea, Calif.); Kaneisha Horn (Alabama / Birmingham, Ala.); Malina Howard (Twinsburg H.S. / Twinsburg, Ohio); Moriah Jefferson (Texas Home Educators Sports Association / Glenn Heights, Texas); Alexis Jones (Irving MacArthur H.S. / Irving, Texas); Betnijah Laney (Smyrna H.S. / Clayton, Del.); Allyson Malott (Madison H.S. / Middletown, Ohio); Tyaunna Marshall (Georgia Tech / Upper Marlboro, Md.); Ariel Massengale (Bolingbrook H.S. / Bolingbrook, Ill.); Khaalidah Miller (Georgia / Atlanta, Ga.); Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (Mater Dei H.S. / Anaheim, Calif.); Cassie Peoples (Cy-Fair H.S. / Houston, Texas); Theresa Plaisance (LSU / Marrero, La.); Shoni Schimmel (Louisville / Mission, Ore.); Meighan Simmons (Tennessee / Cibolo, Texas); Odyssey Sims (Baylor / Irving, Texas); Bria Smith (Christ the King H.S. / Massapequa, N.Y.); Imani Stafford (Winward H.S. / Los Angeles, Calif.); Breanna Stewart (Cicero-North Syracuse H.S. / North Syracuse, N.Y.); Kiah Stokes (Linn-Mar H.S. / Marion, Iowa); Alyssa Thomas (Maryland / Harrisburg, Pa.); Morgan Tuck (Bolingbrook H.S. / Bolingbrook, Ill.); Alexyz Vaioletama (Mater Dei H.S. / Fountain Valley, Calif.); and Elizabeth Williams (Princess Anne H.S. / Virginia Beach, Va.).

The USA U19 World Championship Team training camp will open June 1-5 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., as part of the ESPN RISE Girls Showcase. The USA will train for four days before facing the Brazil U19 National Team on June 5. The game will be televised on ESPNU and also shown online at ESPN3.com.

Then on July 11-15, the USA U19 squad will reassemble for training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, before the team travels to Chile for its final preparations.

As the winner of the past three U19 World Championships, the USA will look to defend its title at the 2011 U19 Worlds, hosted by Chile from July 21-31 in Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas. The USA has been drawn into Group B for preliminary round play and will tip-off against Japan on July 21 (12:30 p.m. EDT), face Russia on July 22 (12:30 p.m. EDT) and close the first round against Argentina on July 23 (3:30 p.m. EDT). The second round will be played July 25-27, quarterfinals are slated for July 29, semifinals will be held on July 30 and the finals are scheduled for July 31.

Current collegiate athletes invited to participate in the 2011 USA U19 World Championship Team Trials are eligible and may also be considered for the 2011 USA World University Games Team. Trials for both teams will take place in staggered sessions May 22-25. The 2011 World University Games women’s basketball competition is scheduled for Aug. 14-21 in Shenzhen, China.

In addition to Donohoe, the committee includes NCAA appointees Joanne Boyle (University of Virginia), Coquese Washington (Penn State University) and Connie Yori (University of Nebraska), as well as athlete representative Beth Cunningham (Virginia Commonwealth University, 1999 USA Pan American Games Team member).

Originally known as the FIBA Junior World Championship, the tournament was held every four years from 1985 through 2005. FIBA now conducts the U19 World Championship every other year. USA women's teams are 49-11 all-time in U19/Junior World championships, most recently capturing a third consecutive gold with an 8-1 record in 2009.

Some of the top players who have represented the United States in past FIBA U19 World Championships include: Angela Aycock (1993); Alana Beard (2001); Essence Carson (2005); Tamika Catchings (1997); Monique Currie (2001); Crystal Langhorne (2005); Erlana Larkins (2005); Jantel Lavender (2007); Lisa Leslie (1989); Rebecca Lobo (1993); Maya Moore (2007); Nnemkadi Ogwumike (2009); Vickie Orr (1985); Courtney Paris (2005); Cappie Pondexter (2001); Katie Smith (1993); Dawn Staley (1989); Ann Strother (2001); Diana Taurasi (2001); Abby Waner (2005); and Candice Wiggins (2005).