News Release

5465 Mark Dabling Blvd., Colorado Springs, CO 80918-3842 http://www.usabasketball.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / May 7, 2002

For further information contact Craig Miller or Caroline Williams at USA (719) 590-4800.

*This release is also available on USA Basketball's World Wide Web homepage - http://www.usabasketball.com.

Thirty-Six Of Nation’s Top 20-And-Unders Set To Try Out For 2002 USA World Championship For Young Women Qualifying Team

-- Five Members Of 2001 USA Junior World Championship Team Among Invitees --

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 7, 2002) -- Five members of the bronze medal winning 2001 USA Basketball Women’s Junior World Championship Team, as well as six collegiate All-Americans, are among 35 of the country’s top 20-and-unders who have accepted invitations to try out for the 2002 USA Basketball World Championship For Young Women Qualifying Team, USA Basketball announced today. The invitations were issued by the USA Basketball Women’s Collegiate Committee, chaired by University of Texas Senior Associate Athletics Director for Men’s and Women’s Athletics Chris Plonsky. On May 20 following the three-day Trials, which will be held May 17-19 at the U.S. Olympic Training in Colorado Springs, Colo., the Committee will announce finalists for the U.S. squad. The eventual 12-member U.S. team, which will be comprised of U.S. citizens 20-years-old or younger (born on or after January 1, 1982), will compete in the Confederation of Pan American Basketball Associations (COPABA) World Championship For Young Women Qualifying Tournament. Hosted by Brazil in Ribeirao Preto July 17-21 and featuring eight teams from North, South and Central America as well as the 2002 USA Basketball World Caribbean, the top three nations will qualify for the inaugural Championship For Young Women International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Championship Qualifying Team For Young Women which is scheduled to be played in Dubrovnik, Site: Ribeirao Preto, Brazil Croatia in July 2003 (dates TBD). Dates: July 17-21 USA team training will kick off on July 7 in Colorado Springs and run through July 11 (times TBD). Following the July USA Head Coach: Marsha Sharp (Texas Tech)

7-11 training camp, during which will time the final 12-member USA Assistant Coaches: Nikita Lowry (New 2002 USA 20-and-under squad will be named, the U.S. is Mexico State), Lisa Stone (Drake) scheduled to continue its training July 12-20 in Brazil prior to the USA Team: 12 U.S. citizens age 20-years-old start of the 2002 COPABA Qualifying Tournament. and younger

Included among the invitees are: USA Team Trials: May 17-19, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Notre Dame / South Bend, Ind.); Tera Bjorklund (Colorado / St. Peter, Minn.); Betsy Boardman (Arizona State / Portland, Ore.); USA Team Training: July 7-11, Colorado Teresa Borton (Notre Dame / Yakima, Wash.); Kala Bowers (Texas / Woodward, Okla.); Kara Brown-Braxton (Georgia / Jackson, Mich.); (Arkansas / Hot Springs, Ark.); Ebony Felder (Georgia / Jackson, Miss.); Cisti Greenwalt (Texas Tech / Clovis, N.M.); (Florida / Orlando, Fla.); SeSe Helm (Kentucky / Bowling Green, Ky.); Doneeka Hodges (Louisiana State / New Orleans, La.); (Southern California / Harbor City, Calif.); (Texas Christian / Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.); Dionnah Jackson (Oklahoma / St. Louis, Mo.); Amber Jacobs (Boston College / Clarks Summit, Pa.); (Louisiana State / New Orleans, La.); Laurie Koehn (Kansas State / Hesston, Kan.); (Penn State / Montoursville, Pa.); Julie McBride (Syracuse / Mechanicville, N.Y.); Janel McCarville (Minnesota / Stevens Point, Wis.); Kristen O'Neill (Washington / Lynwood, Wash.); Amber Obaze (Louisiana Tech / Dallas, Texas ); (George Washington / Houston, Texas ); (Kansas State / Clay Center, Kan.); Jia Perkins (Texas Tech / Granbury, Texas ); (Rutgers / Chicago, Ill.); Heather Schreiber (Texas / Windthorst, Texas ); Stacy Stephens (Texas / Winnsboro, Texas ); University of Connecticut freshman-to-be Ann Strother (Highlands Ranch H.S. / Highlands Ranch, Colo.); Kelley Suminski (Stanford / Chester, N.J.); Brandi Teamer (Virginia / Joliet, Ill.); (Georgia / Buford, Ga.); Tanesheia Thompson (Gulf Coast Community College / Roanoke, Ala.); (Minnesota / Hutchinson, Minn.) and Dee-Dee Wheeler (Arizona / Chicago, Ill.). All told, there are 34 NCAA Division I players, including 20 rising juniors and 14 rising sophomores, one NJCAA athlete and one who has recently completed her prep career; 19 previous USA Basketball participants; six 2002 All-Americans; six 2002 conference Freshman of the Year honorees; one 2002 conference Player of the Year and a total of 25 who were listed among their 2002 all-conference or all-freshmen teams. Returning to USA Basketball after helping the U.S. capture a bronze medal at the 2001 FIBA Junior World Championship are Bjorklund, Christon, Pondexter, Stephens and Strother; while Hoffman, Koehn and Pondexter were members of the gold medal winning 2000 USA Junior World Championship Qualifying Team. In all, 19 athletes have had USA Basketball experience. Boardman (2001), Borton (2001), Bowers (2000), Brown-Braxton (2000), Hayden (2000, 2001), Hodges (2000), Irvin (2001), Jacobs (2001), Mazzante (2000, 2001), Obaze (2000, 2001) and Oha (2001) have participated in at least one USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Team Trials and Felder was among the trials invitees for the 1998 USA World Youth Games Team. Mazzante and Whalen top the list of 2002 All-American selections as both were named 2002 U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-Americans. Additionally, Mazzante and Whalen listed as Associated Press All- American second and third team honorees, respectively; while Mazzante earned 2002 Kodak/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-America status. Named as the 2002 USBWA National Freshman of the Year was Batteast, who was also a 2002 Kodak/WBCA All-America honorable mention. Rounding out the list of 2002 Kodak/WBCA All-America honorable mentions are Hayden, Ohlde, Obaze and Whalen. Six made an impact as a rookie among their respective conferences in 2001-02 and were ultimately tabbed as their conference Freshman of the Year, including Batteast (Big East), Brown-Braxton (Southeastern) McCarville (Big Ten), Schreiber (Big 12), Teamer (Atlantic Coast) and Wheeler (Pacific-10); while Felder (Southeastern), Irvin (Conference USA), O’Neill (Pacific-10) and Suminski (Pacific-10) were named to their conference’s All-Rookie teams. Whalen, the 2002 Big Ten Conference Player of the Year, is one of 21 trials participants who earned all- conference honors. Seven listed among their all-conference first teams, including Brown-Braxton (Southeastern), Hayden (Southeastern), Hoffman (Pacific 10), Mazzante (Big Ten), Oha (Atlantic 10), Ohlde (Big 12) and Whalen. Ten of the invitees were named all-conference second team, including Batteast (Big East), Christon (Southeastern), Helm (Southeastern), Hodges (Southeastern), McCarville (Big Ten), Obaze (Western Athletic), Perkins (Big 12), Stephens (Big 12), Teamer (Atlantic Coast) and Thomas (Southeastern); while Irvin (Conference USA), Koehn (Big 12) and McBride (Big East) were named to their respective all-conference third team and Schreiber was a 2002 All-Big 12 honorable mention. Jackson, who earned Big 12 All-Tournament Team honors after averaging 12.0 ppg., 7.0 rpg. and 3.7 apg. in helping lead OU to the Big 12 Tournament title, will not attend the Trials but has applied for a medical waiver to still be considered among the finalists. She had arthroscopic surgery on April 18 to remove an osteochondral defect in her right knee, and is expected to be fully recovered within eight weeks following surgery. The elder of the two non-NCAA Division I players, Thompson helped Gulf Coast Community College (Fla.) to a third place finish in the 2002 NJCAA Tournament, earning All-NJCAA Tournament Team honors in the process. She also collected All-Panhandle Conference, All-State and All-Region VIII Tournament Team accolades. Strother, the lone high school player on the Trials roster, earned 2002 National High School Player of the Year honors by no less than Naismith, USA Today, Parade Magazine and the WBCA. head coach Marsha Sharp will direct the 2002 USA Basketball World Championship For Young Women Qualifying Team. Her assistants are collegiate head coaches Nikita Lowry of New Mexico State University and Lisa Stone of Drake University (Iowa). In addition to Plonsky, the USA Basketball Women’s Collegiate Committee is comprised of NCAA appointees (Duke), Donna Noonan (Vice President, NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship) and Willette White (Northeastern); NAIA appointee Stephanie Findley (Oklahoma Christian); NJCAA appointee Mary Ellen Leicht (Assistant Executive Director, NJCAA); WBCA appointee Muffet McGraw (Notre Dame); and athlete representatives , a five-time Olympian, and 1992 Olympian -Wiley.

2002 USA Basketball Women’s National Team Trials Schedule

Date Time Event May 17 5:30 p.m. Trials Session #1 May 18 9:00 a.m. Trials Session #2 5:00 p.m. Trials Session #3 May 19 9:00 a.m. Trials Session #4 4:30 p.m. Trials Session #5 May 20 TBD a.m. Announcement of Finalists

* All Trials Sessions, which run approximately two hours and are subject to change, will be held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center Sports Center II

*** ATHLETE / COACH INTERVIEWS *** If you are planning on attending a practice or would like to arrange a telephone interview with an athlete or member of the coaching staff following any of the Trials Sessions, please contact Caroline Williams at 719-330-3310 or another member of the USA Basketball Communications Department at 719-590-4800. All interviews, which must be arranged through Williams or another member of the USA Basketball Communications Department, will normally take place immediately following a Trials Session. 2002 USA Basketball Women’s National Team Trials Roster

NAME POS HGT WGT DOB YOG SCHOOL / HOMETOWN Jacqueline Batteast F 6-2 155 03/26/83 2005 Notre Dame / South Bend, IN Tera Bjorklund C 6-5 185 06/29/82 2004 Colorado / St. Peter, MN Betsy Boardman F 6-1 165 03/04/82 2004 Arizona State / Portland, OR Teresa Borton F 6-3 180 12/31/82 2005 Notre Dame / Yakima, WA Kala Bowers F 6-2 163 06/03/83 2005 Texas / Woodward, OK Kara Brown-Braxton C 6-6 197 02/18/83 2004 Georgia / Jackson, MI Shameka Christon F 6-1 172 02/15/82 2004 Arkansas / Hot Springs, AR Ebony Felder F 6-1 170 07/20/82 2005 Georgia / Jackson, MI Cisti Greenwalt C 6-5 178 04/04/83 2005 Texas Tech / Clovis, NM Vanessa Hayden C 6-4 230 06/05/82 2004 Florida / Orlando, FL SeSe Helm F 6-4 185 01/19/82 2004 Kentucky / Bowling Green, KY Doneeka Hodges G 5-9 155 07/19/82 2004 Louisiana State / New Orleans, LA Ebony Hoffman F 6-2 200 08/27/82 2004 Southern California / Harbor City, CA Sandora Irvin F 6-4 180 02/23/82 2005 Texas Christian / Ft. Lauderdale, FL *Dionnah Jackson G 5-9 150 08/15/82 2005 Oklahoma / St. Louis, MO Amber Jacobs G 5-8 150 06/29/82 2004 Boston College / Clarks Summit, PA Temeka Johnson G 5-3 135 09/06/82 2005 Louisiana State / New Orleans, LA Laurie Koehn G 5-8 145 05/13/82 2005 Kansas State / Hesston, KS Kelly Mazzante G 6-0 155 02/02/82 2004 Penn State / Montoursville, PA Julie McBride G 5-4 130 09/24/82 2004 Syracuse / Mechanicville, NY Janel McCarville F/C 6-2 170 11/03/82 2005 Minnesota / Stevens Point, WI Kristen O'Neill G 6-1 160 04/12/83 2005 Washington / Lynwood, WA Amber Obaze G 5-9 156 06/25/82 2004 Louisiana Tech / Dallas, TX Ugo Oha C 6-4 180 07/18/82 2004 George Washington / Houston, TX Nicole Ohlde C 6-4 175 03/13/82 2004 Kansas State / Clay Center, KS Jia Perkins G 5-8 150 02/23/82 2004 Texas Tech / Granbury, TX Cappie Pondexter G 5-7 150 01/07/83 2004 Rutgers / Chicago, IL Heather Schreiber F 6-2 165 01/07/83 2005 Texas / Windthorst, TX Stacy Stephens F 6-1 210 01/21/82 2004 Texas / Winnsboro, TX Ann Strother G 6-1 150 12/11/83 2002 Highlands Ranch (UConn) / Highlands Ranch, CO Kelley Suminski G 5-9 158 12/18/82 2005 Stanford / Chester, NJ Brandi Teamer F 6-0 190 01/06/82 2005 Virginia / Joliet, IL Christi Thomas C 6-5 190 08/14/82 2004 Georgia / Buford, GA Tanesheia Thompson G 5-6 124 01/30/83 2003 Gulf Coast Community College / Roanoke, AL Lindsay Whalen G 5-8 145 05/09/82 2004 Minnesota / Hutchinson, MN Dee-Dee Wheeler G 5-6 140 03/29/83 2005 Arizona / Chicago, IL

2002 USA Basketball World Championship For Young Women Qualifying Team Staff

Head Coach: Marsha Sharp, Texas Tech University Assistant Coach: Nikita Lowry, New Mexico State University Assistant Coach: Lisa Stone, Drake University (Iowa)

* Applied for a medical waiver and will not attend Trials.

NOTE: Strother has signed a national letter of intent to attend the University of Connecticut.