BASKETBALL: USA Basketball Women's National Team Resumes Training In Spain

http://www.usabasketball.com -- National Team Athletes Slated To Train, Play Two Games In Salamanca, Valencia -- COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (March 5, 2008) -- After a successful year in 2007 that saw the 2007-08 USA Basketball Women's National Team earn an Olympic berth and compile an overall slate of 19-0, the U.S. squad is scheduled to resume its training for Beijing in Salamanca and Valencia, Spain, March 14-20. Included in its 2008 Tour of Spain will be a contest against top EuroLeague pro team Ros Casares in Valencia on March 17 and a game on March 20 against Perfumerias Avenida in Salamanca. The USA's competition is currently ranked No. 1 (Ros Casares) and No. 2 in the Spanish League. USA Basketball Women's National Team members slated to attend the 2008 Tour of Spain include: Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx), Swin Cash (Seattle Storm), Katie Douglas (Indiana Fever), Katie Feenstra (Atlanta Dream), Lindsey Harding (Minnesota Lynx), Janel McCarville (New York Liberty), DeLisha Milton-Jones (Washington Mystics), Cappie Pondexter (Phoenix Mercury), Katie Smith (Detroit Shock) and Lindsay Whalen (Connecticut Sun). Additionally, USA Basketball has invited Los Angeles Sparks guards Temeka Johnson and Sidney Spencer to attend the Spain training camp."I am very excited to resume our training,"said 2008 U.S. Olympic Team head coach Anne Donovan."We have a chance to compete against the top two professional teams in Spain in March and then travel to Beijing in April and go against five Olympic teams in the test event. These will be the final two times our team will be able to train before the WNBA season begins. I'm looking forward to getting the players back on the court-from veterans like Katie Smith and DeLisha Milton-Jones to newcomers who really impressed me last year like Janel McCarville."Donovan will be assisted on the sidelines by Connecticut Sun head coach Mike Thibault. During the USA's Tour of Spain, the team will train in Valencia March 14-16 before taking on 2008 EuroLeague quarterfinalist Ros Casares on March 17 (time TBD). Following two more days of practice, the USA squad will travel to Salamanca to cap its training with a 12:30 p.m. (6:30 a.m. EST) contest against Perfumerias Avenida on March 20. The USA National Team will have one final training camp before the 2008 WNBA season tips off. Beginning in Chicago on April 13, the U.S. will train through April 16 prior to traveling to Beijing for the April 19-27 Good Luck Beijing Tournament. Featuring six nations, including 2006 World Champion Australia, host China, Cuba, New Zealand and South Korea, the tournament will feature a single round-robin preliminary round with games played on April 19, 20, 21, 23 and 24. Teams will then be seeded for the April 26 finals based on records from the round-robin preliminary round with the top two squads facing off in the gold medal game. Additionally, on April 26 FIBA will hold the men's and women's Olympic draw at the Wukesong Arena between the bronze medal and gold medal games. The 2007-08 USA Basketball Women's National Team features a total of 29 athletes on its roster, which was selected by the USA Basketball Women's National Team Committee, chaired by USA Basketball vice president for senior women Renee Brown, WNBA chief of basketball operations and player relations. It is expected that the 12-member 2008 U.S. Olympic Team will come from the USA National Team roster. USA Basketball is the national governing body responsible for men's and women's basketball in the United States and is responsible for representing the USA in international competitions. 2008 USA Basketball Women's National Team Tour of Spain Roster NAME POS HGT WGT DOB WNBA TEAM SCHOOL HOMETOWN Seimone Augustus F 6 1 179 04/30/84 Minnesota Lynx Louisiana State Baton Rouge, LA Swin Cash F 6-1 162 09/22/79 Seattle Storm Connecticut McKeesport, PA Katie Douglas G/F 6-0 165 05/07/79 Indiana Fever Purdue Indianapolis, IN Katie Feenstra C 6-8 240 11/17/82 Atlanta Dream Liberty Grand Rapids, MI Lindsey Harding G 5-8 143 06/12/84 Minnesota Lynx Duke Houston, TX *Temeka Johnson G 5-3 145 09/06/82 Los Angeles Sparks Louisiana State Kenner, LA Janel McCarville C 6-3 205 11/03/82 New York Liberty Minnesota Stevens Point, WI DeLisha Milton Jones F 6 1 185 09/11/74 Washington Mystics Florida Riceboro, GA Cappie Pondexter G 5 9 160 01/07/83 Phoenix Mercury Rutgers Chicago, IL Katie Smith G 5 11 174 06/04/74 Detroit Shock Ohio State Logan, OH *Sidney Spencer G 6-3 183 03/07/85 Los Angeles Sparks Tennessee Hoover, AL Lindsay Whalen G 5-8 150 05/09/82 Connecticut Sun Minnesota Hutchinson, MN Head Coach: Anne Donovan, USA Basketball Assistant Coach: Mike Thibault, Connecticut Sun Team Physician: Sheldon Burns, Minnesota Lynx Athletic Trainer: Ed Ryan, Colorado Springs, Colo. *Not a member of the 2007-08 USA Basketball Women's National Team.