USA Basketball Announces Women's National Team Trial Invitees

May 3, 2001

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 3, 2001) – Georgia Tech sophomore guard Niesha Butler and six other Atlantic Coast Conference women’s basketball players have accepted invitations to the 2001 women’s National Team Trials, the USA Basketball women’s Collegiate Committee announced Thursday. They are among 36 of the top women’s collegiate basketball players in the nation, including 13 who earned All-America accolades in 2001, who have accepted invitations to the National Team Trials. Chaired by University of Texas Senior Associate Athletics Director for Men’s and Women’s Athletics Chris Plonsky, the Committee will select finalists for the 12-member 2001 USA Women’s World University Games Team following the four-day Trials, which will be held May 18-21 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The 2001 USA Basketball Women’s National Team Trials will begin Friday, May 18 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. (all times MST). Sessions will follow from 9:00-11:30 a.m. and 5:00-7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 19, from 9:00-11:30 a.m. and 4:30-7:00 p.m on Sunday, May 20, and the Trials will conclude on Monday, May 21 with a session from 8:00-10:00 a.m.

Included among the invitees are: Chantelle Anderson (Vanderbilt/Vancouver, Wash.), Kerensa Barr (Missouri / West Plains, Mo.), Coretta Brown (North Carolina/Statesboro, Ga.), Niesha Butler (Georgia Tech/New York, N.Y.), La’Neishea Caufield (Oklahoma/Ada, Okla.), Courtney Coleman (Ohio State/Cincinnati, Ohio), Danielle Crockrom (Baylor/Houston, Texas), Cori Enghusen (Stanford/Bothell, Wash.), Chrissy Floyd (Clemson/Laurens, S.C.), Catrina Frierson (Louisiana Tech / Vicksburg, Miss.), Andrea Gardner (Howard/Washington, D.C.), Teresa Geter (South Carolina/Columbia, S.C.), Michelle Greco (UCLA/LaCrescenta, Calif.), Caton Hill (Oklahoma/Ada, Okla.), Andrea Lalum (Washington/Bozeman, Mont.), Shelia Lambert (Baylor/Seattle, Wash.), Kara Lawson (Tennessee/Alexandria,Va.), Ashley McElhiney (Vanderbilt/Gleason, Tenn.), Lindsey Meder (Iowa/Solon, Iowa), Carisse Moody (North Carolina State/Rocky Mount, N.C.), Tamara Moore (Wisconsin/Minneapolis, Minn.), Mandy Nightingale (Colorado/Sapulpa, Okla.), Kim Ortega (Seward County C.C /Logandale, Nev.), Loree Payne (Washington/Havre, Mont.), Natalie Powers (Western Kentucky/Owensboro, Ky.), Telisha Quarles (Virginia/Louisa, Va.), Felicia Ragland (Oregon State/Tulare, Calif.), Jenny Roulier (Colorado/Englewood, Colo.), Aiysha Smith (Tyler J.C./Detroit, Mich.), Jessie Stomski (Wisconsin/Oakdale, Minn.), April Traylor (Florida State/Martinsville, Ind.), Ayana Walker (Louisiana Tech/Houston, Texas), Deedee Warley (Maryland/Ft. Washington, Md.), Shaquala Williams (Oregon/Portland, Ore.), Shereka Wright (Purdue/Copperas Cove, Texas), and Lindsey Yamasaki (Stanford/Oregon City, Ore.).

Of the 36 athletes who have accepted invitations to the 2001 Trials, 12 have been involved with USA Basketball in the past, 19 recently completed their junior seasons at the NCAA Division I level, 13 were NCAA sophomores in 2000-01, two were freshmen this past season and two hail from the NJCAA Division I level. In addition to the 13 All-Americans on the list, three earned 2001 NCAA Tournament all-regional honors and 27 collected 2001 all-conference accolades.

2001 Naismith Player of the Year finalist Anderson headlines the list of former USA Basketball players. A member of the bronze medal-winning 1998 USA World Youth Games Team, in 2000 Anderson helped the USA R. William Jones Cup Team to a gold medal and returned a month later to compete against the 2000 USA Basketball Women’s National Team as a member of the 2000 USA Select Team. Lawson garnered USA Basketball experience on the 1998 USA World Youth Games Team and Payne was a teammate of Anderson’s on both of the 2000 U.S. teams. Aiding the 1999 USA World University Games eam to a silver medal was Walker, while Butler, Caufield, Geter, Greco, Ragland, Roulier, Williams and Yamasaki have all participated in prior USA Basketball Team Trials.

Anderson helped propel Vanderbilt University (Tenn.) to the 2001 NCAA Midwest Regional finals and earned All-Regional honors in the process. In the West Region, Hill and Lalum faced off against each other in the regional finals and while Washington advanced to the Elite Eight, both played well enough to be named to the All-West Region Team.

Highlighting the All-American list is Anderson, an Associated Press and Women’s Basketball Journal 2001 All-America second team selection, who was also named a 2001 Kodak/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-America honorable mention. Earning 2001 AP All-America honorable mention were Crockrom, Lawson, Moody, Moore, Ragland and Walker, while Floyd, Lambert, Ragland, Walker and Stomski were all tabbed Kodak/WBCA All-America honorable mentions. Selected to the Women’s Basketball Journal All-America third and fourth teams were Lambert and Crockrom, respectively, while Caufield and Moore were each named to the 2001 Women’s Basketball Journal Defensive All-America first team. Additionally, Ortega and Smith were honored by the NJCAA as 2001 NJCAA All-America first team selections.

Among all-conference honorees are Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Year Gardner, Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year Ragland, Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year Lambert, and conference Defensive Players of the Year Moore (Big 10 Conference) and Walker (Sun Belt Conference). In addition to garnering these awards, all five were named to their respective all-conference first teams, as were Anderson (Southeastern Conference [SEC]), Crockrom (Big 12), Greco (Pac-10), Lawson (SEC), Meder (Big 10), Powers (Sun Belt) and Stomski (Big 10). Listed among their respective all-conference second teams were Brown (Atlantic Coast Conference [ACC]), Caufield (Big 12), Coleman (Big 10), Floyd (ACC), Geter (SEC) Hill (Big 12) and Moody (ACC), while Butler (ACC), Nightingale (Big 12), Roulier (Big 12), Traylor (ACC) and Warley (ACC) collected all-conference third team honors and Yamasaki was named All-Pac-10 honorable mention. The two freshmen also secured all-conference awards as Lalum was named All-Pac-10 honorable mention and Wright was named to the Big 10 All-Freshman Team.

All told, there are 26 NCAA schools represented, with eight ringing in with two athletes apiece (Baylor, Colorado, Louisiana Tech, Oklahoma, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Washington and Wisconsin), and seven conferences, with the ACC, Big 12 and Pac-10 leading the way with seven athletes represented apiece. Additionally, two junior colleges are represented among the 36 athletes invited to the 2001 USA Basketball Women’s National Team Trials.

University of Virginia head coach Debbie Ryan will serve as head coach of the 2001 U.S. squad and she will be assisted by University of Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder and East Carolina University (N.C.) head coach Dee Stokes. The final 12-member team will be named during the August 6-14 training camp which will be held at the USOTC.

The World University Games, held every two years and organized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU), is a multi-sport competition open to men and women between the ages of 17 and 28 (born between January 1, 1973 and December 31, 1983), who are, or have been within the past year, a student at a college or university. This summer the World University Games will be held Aug. 22 – Sept. 1 in Beijing, China.

The 2001 World University Games women’s basketball competition, currently featuring squads from 20 countries, has been divided into four preliminary round pools. The United States has been placed in Pool B and will face Canada, Ireland, Japan and South Africa in the preliminary round.

The USA women have enjoyed outstanding success in the World University Games and have earned 11 medals in 12 appearances, including four golds, six silvers and one bronze medal, and have compiled an overall record of 68-14 (.829) since beginning World University Games play in 1973. In the last competition, which was held in 1999 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, the U.S. finished with a 4-2 record and the silver medal. The USA women last earned the World University Games gold in Sicily in 1997.

The United States has been sending women’s teams to the World University Games since 1973, and since then the World University Games has served as an important developmental event for the U.S. Of the 64 all-time U.S. women’s Olympic basketball team members, 34 have been members of USA Basketball women’s World University Games teams. Most notable among the list of WUG alumni are Carol Blazejowski, Ruthie Bolton (Holifield), Denise Curry, Anne Donovan, Kamie Ethridge, Pat Head (Summitt), Tara Heiss, Lisa Leslie, Katrina McClain, Suzie McConnell (Serio), Ann Meyers (Drysdale), DeLisha Milton, Cindy Noble (Hauserman), Vickie Orr (Wiley), Katie Smith, Dawn Staley, Katy Steding, Kara Wolters and Lynette Woodard.

The USA Basketball Women’s Collegiate Committee, in addition to Plonsky, is comprised of NAIA designee Stephanie Findley (head coach, Oklahoma Christian University), NCAA appointees Tom Collen (head coach, Colorado State University), Gail Goestenkors (head coach, Duke University, N.C.), Donna Noonan (Vice President, Women’s Basketball Championship, NCAA) and Willette White (head coach, Northeastern University, Mass.), representing the NJCAA is Mary Ellen Leicht (Assistant Executive Director, NJCAA), Muffet McGraw (head coach, Notre Dame University, Ind.) was appointed by the WBCA and Teresa Edwards (2000, 1996, 1992, 1988 and 1984 Olympian, 1994, 1990 and 1986 World Championship teams / Smyrna, Ga.) and Vickie Orr-Wiley (1992 Olympic bronze medalist, 1990 World Championship gold medalist / Birmingham, Ala.) are the athlete representatives.

2001 USA Basketball Women’s National Team Trials
— Alphabetical Roster —

– Junior college graduation date
# Has applied for a medical waiver

2001 USA Basketball Women’s World University Games Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Debbie Ryan, University of Virginia
Assistant Coach: Lisa Bluder, University of Iowa
Assistant Coach: Dee Stokes, East Carolina University (N.C.)