STANFORD, Calif. – Fran Belibi and Kiana Williams made two separate USA Basketball rosters following a weekend of trials at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Belibi earned a spot on the U.S. squad for the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup that will be held July 20-28 in Bangkok, Thailand while Williams will suit up for the United States at the 2019 Pan American Games from Aug. 6-10 in Lima, Peru.
Belibi played her way onto the 12-person roster following six trials sessions over four days that featured 30 athletes. A USA Basketball veteran, the incoming freshman won gold medals with the United States at the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup and 2017 FIBA Americas U16 Championship. Last summer at the World Cup in Minsk, Belarus she averaged 8.0 points and 5.7 rebounds. Belibi averaged 4.8 points and 5.8 rebounds at the Americas U16 Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Belibi, who had a 16-point, 15-rebound double-double in last month's Jordan Brand Classic, is part of the Cardinal's heralded recruiting class, which is ranked second by espnW HoopGurlz. The first woman since Candace Parker in 2004 to win the Powerade Jam Fest dunk title at the McDonald's All-American Game and the No. 19 prospect in the country, Belibi scored 21.8 points per game this year and added 12.3 rebounds while earning Gatorade Player of the Year honors in Colorado.
The U.S. team will return to Colorado Springs to train July 5-10 before traveling to Tokyo, Japan, where the squad will practice and scrimmage against the Japan U19 National Team July 13-15. The USA has an additional three days of training and a pair of scrimmages in Bangkok against Argentina and Germany, July 17-19, before the 13th edition of the FIBA U19 World Cup tips off July 20.
Williams made her first USA Basketball roster following three days of trials that began with 35 hopefuls. She just wrapped up her sophomore season at Stanford in which averaged 14.3 points and 4.7 assists per game. Williams was second on the team in scoring, ninth in the Pac-12 in assists and the first Cardinal player to average more than 4.5 assists per game in eight years.
Her 91 made 3-pointers tied Krista Rappahahn (2006) for third in single-season history at Stanford and Williams has made 162 from deep in her career, eighth among Power 5 conference players over the past two seasons.
The 5-foot-8 guard was an Ann Meyers Drysdale Award finalist, voted to the Chicago Regional All-Tournament Team and selected All-Pac-12 by both the league's coaches and its media in 2019.
Williams had previous experience at trials at the U17 (2014 and 2016) and U16 (2015) levels.
The Pan American Games team members will return to Colorado Springs for training camp July 23-Aug. 5, before heading to Peru for the tournament.
Stanford checks in at No. 3 in ESPN's early women's college basketball rankings and will host Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, Tennessee and Ohio State as part of an impressive home schedule next year. Season ticket membership deposits are currently being accepted for 2019-20. A $50 per-seat deposit (non-refundable) will ensure that you are able to choose from the best seats available, soon after current season ticket members have a chance to renew. Deposits will be applied to the final ticket purchase total.