May 14, 2007
STANFORD, Calif.- Junior guard Candice Wiggins (San Diego, Calif.) has accepted an invitation to the 2007 USA Basketball Women's National Team Trials, slated to be held May 17-20 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Wiggins is included among a select group of 45 of the nation's elite players that are under consideration to represent the United States this summer at either the FIBA U21 World Championship or Pan American Games.
The invitations were issued by the USA Basketball Women's Collegiate Committee, which is chaired by Sue Donohoe, the NCAA's vice president of Division I women's basketball. The Committee is expected to announce finalists for the 2007 USA U21 World Championship Team and the 2007 USA Pan American Games Team on May 20.
Wiggins continued to cement her reputation as one of the nation's premier players during her junior season in 2006-07, earning Kodak/WBCA and Associated Press All-America honors for the third straight year.
Wiggins led the Cardinal in scoring (16.9 ppg) and three-pointers (82) in 29 games played and 28 starts. A 46-percent shooter from the field, Wiggins ranked second in assists (96) while snagging 4.1 rebounds per game. She scored in double-figures in 25 games and scored at least 20 points in eight games this year, including a season-best 30-point effort at Arizona State on Jan. 27 that resulted in her second Pac-10 Player of the Week honor.
An All-Pac-10 selection, Wiggins was named Most Outstanding Player at the Pac-10 Tournament, averaging 22.3 points per game while connecting on 14 of 25 three-point attempts.
A two-time Pac-10 Player of the Year, Wiggins enters her senior year with 1842 career points- a total that ranks fifth-best in school history and only 373 behind Kate Starbird's record of 2215. In addition, Wiggins needs to knock down only three more triples to become the school's all-time leader in that category.
The USA will look to defend its world title in this age group, open to athletes 21-years-old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1986), at the 2007 FIBA U21 World Championship, held this year June 29-July 8 in Moscow, Russia. The USA U21 finalists, named following the USA Trials, will reconvene in Colorado Springs June 12 to begin training for the tournament, and the eventual 12-member team will be named prior to the squad departing for Europe on June 16. The United States was placed in Group B in the 12-nation tournament along with Australia, Brazil, Hungary, Japan and Spain. Group A includes Belgium, Canada, China, Mali, France and Russia.
The Pan American Games women's basketball tournament will be held July 20-24 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and will feature eight national teams from FIBA Americas. The USA Pan Ams finalists named following the USA Trials will reconvene on July 6 in Washington, D.C., and the eventual 12-member squad will be named prior to the team departing for Brazil on July 16.
Trials will feature an opening session on May 17, beginning at 6:30 p.m. (all times MDT); followed by two-a-days May 18-19, with morning sessions tipping-off at 10:00 a.m. and evening sessions at 5:30 p.m.; and an 8:30 a.m. session on May 20. USA Basketball is expected to announce finalists for each team following the morning session on May 20. The 2007 USA U19 National Team Trials will also take place May 17-20 at the USOTC, however, the U19 sessions will take place at different times during the weekend.
In all 23 of the 45 under consideration for a spot on one of the teams have been a member of a past USA Basketball squad. Eight athletes return from the 2006 USA U20 National Team that captured the gold medal in Mexico City, Mexico, including Jolene Anderson, Bonner, Carson, Larkins, Packer, Courtney Paris, Vaughn and Wisdom-Hylton. In 2005 Jolene Anderson, Carson, Coleman, Langhorne, Larkins, Courtney Paris, Waner and Wiggins captured the gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championship. Prior to the U19 Worlds, that group, along with USA U19 National Team finalist Williams, won the 2005 International Sports Invitational gold medal. In 2004 Carson, Coleman, Harper, Houston, Larkins, Courtney Paris, Robinson, Waner and Wiggins started their age group off on the right foot by sweeping the competition at the 2004 FIBA Americas U18 Championship to collect the gold medal.
Getting their start in a USA Basketball uniform at the 2004 USA Youth Development Festival were Coleman, McCants, Ashley Paris, Courtney Paris, Robinson, Thompson, Vaughn and Waner; while Ajavon, Carson, Harper, Hornbuckle, Houston, Humphrey, Langhorne, Packer, Thomas, Wiggins and Wisdom-Hylton all competed in the 2003 USA Youth Development Festival.