USA Basketball Women’s U16 National Team Announced

From our friends at USA Basketball:

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 30, 2011)  —  Following four days of trials involving 115 players at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., USA Basketball today announced the official 12-member roster for the 2011 USA Women’s U16 National Team.

Selected to represent the USA were: Recee’ Caldwell (Claudia Taylor Johnson H.S./San Antonio, Texas); Jordin Canada (Windward School/Los Angeles, Calif.); Kaela Davis (Buford H.S./Suwanee, Ga.); Rebecca Greenwell (Owensboro Catholic H.S./Owensboro, Ky.); Linnae Harper (Whitney M. Young H.S./Chicago, Ill.); Stephanie Mavunga (Brownsburg H.S./Indianapolis, Ind.); Erica McCall (Ridgeview H.S./Bakersfield, Calif.); Taya Reimer (Hamilton Southeastern H.S./Fisher, Ind.); Mercedes Russell (Springfield H.S./Springfield, Ore.); Jannah Tucker (New Town H.S./Randallstown, Md.); Sydney Umeri (The Lovett School/Acworth, Ga.); and Jatarie White (Providence Day School/Charlotte, N.C.).

The 2011 USA Women’s U16 National Team will represent the U.S. in the 2011 FIBA Americas U16 Championship June 13-18 in Mérida, Mexico. The top three finishing teams at the ’11 FIBA Americas U16 Championship will earn a berth into the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship (site and date TBD). Players eligible for this team must be U.S. citizens, born on or after Jan. 1, 1995, and the team was selected by the USA Basketball Women’s Developmental National Team Committee.

“This was a difficult decision for the committee because we had so many talented players, who all played with tremendous heart and determination over the past four days,” said Carol Callan, USA Basketball Women’s National Team Director and non-voting chair of the USA Women’s Developmental National Team Committee. “We feel very confident in the 12 athletes selected, and we look forward to watching them compete in just a few weeks at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship.”

“I’m just tickled to death,” said USA head coach Jill Rankin Schneider (Monterey H.S., Lubbock, Texas), a four-time USA Basketball medalist and Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame member.

“They’re really a great group of players. I think we’ve got an exceptional amount of versatility. We’ve got good size across the board. I’m just so pleased with the humility of them. There was genuine excitement, and I think they’ve got the base ingredient that we have to have to come together as a team in such a short time, which is that certain degree of humility, and I think that’s going to be real critical.”

Serving as assistant coaches are Gail Hook, head mentor at Monarch High School in Louisville, Colo., and Letitia Hughley, head coach at both Mott Community College and Flint Northern High School in Flint, Mich.

After returning home from trials on May 30, the 2011 USA Women’s U16 National Team members will resume training camp June 3-11 at the USOTC, prior to the team’s departure for Mexico.

The team features nine players from the class of 2013 and three players who will graduate from high school in 2014. Nine different states are represented on the roster, including two apiece from California, Georgia and Indiana.