March 20, 2007

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The 2007-08 USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team, with its sights set on Beijing, will begin training in the city where it is said that all roads lead - Rome. Members of the USA Senior National Team pool are expected to gather in the Eternal City for an April 7-19 Tour of Italy, which will include an exhibition game against the Italian National Team, as well as contests versus a pair of professional clubs and a final game against a regional all-star squad. USA Basketball also announced today that Duke University's All-American guard Lindsey Harding (Houston, Texas) has accepted an invitation from the USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team Committee to join the 2007-08 USA Senior National Team, bringing the roster to 22 members.

"I know we'll get some good training in during this Italian camp," said USA and Seattle Storm head coach Anne Donovan. "We'll get a solid two weeks of practices together with the core group of players who are on our roster. I'm excited to get some quality training time. It's wonderful that we're going to be able to be in the same location, working out of Italy the entire time for all of our practices and games. In addition to the games giving us good international competition, our intra-squad scrimmages during practices will be extremely competitive. I'm looking forward to the competitiveness that we typically see in USA Basketball practices."

"Her play this year, her leadership abilities and the success she's had in leading Duke this season really stood out in the Committee's eyes," said Committee chair Reneé Brown, WNBA chief of basketball operations and player relations. " We've not only put this pool together to be able to field the best team possible for Beijing, but historically USA Basketball has assembled teams replete with veterans and newcomers to be able to continue building the USA Senior National Team well into the future. In 2006, while we had plenty of versatile players who could play the point, we only had one true point guard on the team. We felt that Lindsey is someone who could really make a difference for us in the years ahead and we needed to get her into the mix."

"We'll also see a new face at the training camp," added Donovan. "I think Lindsey Harding has had a great senior year and I was pleased that the USA Senior National Team Committee added her to the team. In particular she's shown tremendous leadership with her Duke team and shown that she's a complete player at both ends of the floor."

The U.S. players will practice April 7-10 before taking on the Italian National Team on April 11 in Rome (1:30 p.m. EDT), followed by an April 12 exhibition versus the professional team Phard Napoli in Naples (3:30 p.m. EDT). After three additional days of practice the USA is slated to meet the professional team Pallancestro Viterbo on April 16 (3:00 p.m. EDT) in Viterbo. The U.S. will return to Rome for a game against an all-star squad made up of top players from Italy's Pomezia Region on April 17 (12:00 p.m. EDT). The USA will cap its Tour of Italy with practices on April 18 and 19.

"There are so many players on the team that I've watched as I was growing up. I was just shocked, I was excited, it's like a dream come true. This is something I've always wanted to so since I started playing basketball," said Harding, who will don her first USA Basketball uniform this spring.

"I'm definitely going to be in the presence of people who are so knowledgeable about the game," responded Harding when asked about the coaching staff. "I'm going to listen and be a sponge, soak up everything I can because I know that if I work hard enough they can help develop me as an even better player than what I am now. I'm really excited to learn as much as I can from all of them."

A 5-8 senior guard, Harding has aided the Blue Devils to a 127-11 record (all records as of 3/19/07) for a stunning 92.0 winning percentage and at least a share of three Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) regular season crowns and two ACC Tournament titles (2003, 2004). Additionally, during her time in a Duke uniform the Blue Devils competed in four NCAA Tournaments, reaching the title game in 2006 and advancing as far as the 2003 Final Four and 2004 Elite Eight. Most recently, Duke, which meets up with Temple tonight in the second round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament, finished the 2006-07 regular season with a 29-0 record, marking the first ACC team and only the 14th team in NCAA history to go undefeated in the regular season.

Winner of the Frances Pomeroy Naismith award, Harding is among the finalists for several other national player of the year honors, including the Naismith award, John R. Wooden award, State Farm Wade Trophy and the Lowe's Senior C.L.A.S.S. award. The 2006 Kodak and Associated Press All-America honorable mention, Harding also has earned 2007 ACC Player of the Year honors and collected her second ACC Defensive Player of the Year award. A three-time ACC All-Defensive team (2004, 2006, 2007) selection, Harding was tabbed 2007 All-ACC first team, 2006 All-ACC second team, was on the 2004 All-ACC third team and earned 2003 ACC All-Freshman team honors.

Harding joins an already deep and talent-stocked USA roster which includes: Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx), Alana Beard (Washington Mystics), Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Swin Cash (Detroit Shock), Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever), Jessica Davenport (Ohio State University), Katie Douglas (Connecticut Sun), Cheryl Ford (Detroit Shock), Sylvia Fowles (Louisiana State University), Taj McWilliams-Franklin (Connecticut Sun), DeLisha Milton-Jones (Washington Mystics), Deanna Nolan (Detroit Shock), Courtney Paris (University of Oklahoma), Candace Parker (University of Tennessee), Cappie Pondexter (Phoenix Mercury), Katie Smith (Detroit Shock), Michelle Snow (Houston Comets), Sheryl Swoopes (Houston Comets), Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury), Tina Thompson (Houston Comets) and Lindsay Whalen (Connecticut Sun).

Following a break for the WNBA season, the USA Women's Senior National Team will reconvene in early September at a site to be determined to begin preparations for the FIBA Americas Championship 2007. Slated for Sept. 25-29 in Valdivia, Chile, not only is a gold medal on the line at the FIBA Americas tournament, the winner also will receive a berth in the 2008 Olympics. In addition to the USA, teams participating in the FIBA Americas Championship 2007 will be Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Jamaica and Mexico. Should the United States not return home from Chile with the gold medal, there will be one final chance to qualify for the Olympics at the 2008 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament slated for June 9-15 at a site TBD.

The complete USA Women's Senior National Team training plans, including its pre-FIBA Americas Championship training, will be announced at a later date and will include a training camp in the fall of 2007, as well as a pair of camps in the spring of 2008.

Donovan is being assisted by 2006 WNBA Coach of the Year Mike Thibault of the Connecticut Sun and collegiate head coaches Gail Goestenkors of Duke and Temple University's Dawn Staley.

In addition to Brown, the USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team Committee is comprised of athlete representatives Jennifer Azzi, a 1996 Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Championship gold medalist, and five-time Olympian Teresa Edwards; representing the NCAA is University of Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt; and appointed by the WNBA are New York Liberty vice president and general manager Carol Blazejowski, former Houston Comets head coach Van Chancellor, Indiana Fever chief operating officer and general manager Kelly Krauskopf, Minnesota Lynx chief operating officer Roger Griffith and Los Angeles Sparks general manager Penny Toler.

The USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team Program

With an eye towards continued flexibility to the changing women's basketball environment and building upon the success of the USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team program, USA Basketball put together a 22-member 2007-08 USA Women's Senior National Team that was announced on March 6. The group of seasoned veterans and rising stars will train together over the next two years as the U.S. attempts at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games and then defend its three consecutive Olympic gold medal winning streak. It is expected that players selected to compete on USA Senior National teams in the 2007 and 2008 international competitions will come from the USA Basketball Senior National Team pool.

The USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team program has evolved over the past decade ever since the historic 11-member 1995-96 USA Senior National Team spent 10 months traveling the globe in preparation for the 1996 Olympic Games. The program is a proven success. Since the `95-96 team took to the court in October 1995, USA senior teams have compiled a 144-9 (.941) exhibition slate, hauled in three Olympic (1996, 2000, 2004) and two World Championship (1998, 2002) gold medals, one World Championship bronze (2006) and claimed an overall Olympics and Worlds record of 50-1 (.980).

Upcoming International CompetitionsBefore setting its sights on defending its Olympic title, the U.S. must first qualify for the 2008 Beijing Games. Host China and 2006 FIBA World Championship gold medalist Australia have earned automatic berths to the 2008 Olympic women's basketball tournament. Five additional teams will punch their ticket to Beijing at the 2007 FIBA zone championships, as the gold medalists in each of the FIBA zones (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania) qualify to compete in Beijing.

Teams finishing in second, third and fourth place at the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament will have one final chance to earn a spot in Beijing's 12-nation field at the 2008 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Those three nations along with nine other national teams from around the globe who did not claim gold at the remaining FIBA zones, including two from Africa (silver and bronze medalists), two from Asia (silver and bronze medalists), four from Europe (second through fourth place finishers) and one from Oceania (silver medalist), will compete for the final five Olympic slots at the 2008 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

2007-08 USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team Roster

Head Coach: Anne Donovan, Seattle Storm
Assistant Coach: Gail Goestenkors, Duke University
Assistant Coach: Dawn Staley, Temple University
Assistant Coach: Mike Thibault, Connecticut Sun

2007 USA Women's Senior National Team Tour of Italy Schedule

All times listed are local. Italy is +5 from EDT.

Additional Lindsey Harding Quotes:

What went through your head when you found out you were being asked to be a part of the 2007-08 USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team?
I guess the first thing, coach G pulled me aside and asked me about my class schedule and would I be interested in doing this. I just looked at her like `is she for real?' Because there are so many players on the team that I've watched as I was growing up. I was just shocked, I was excited, it's like a dream come true. This is something I've always wanted to so since I started playing basketball.

You mentioned looking forward to stepping out on the court with some of these players, who are you looking forward to playing with on the USA team the most?
Well, I'm from Houston so Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson and, even though she's not playing anymore, Dawn Staley. She's someone that I looked up to as a point guard, watching her play in the Olympics, for the WNBA teams that she played for. Like I said, I'm a Comets fan and the first Comets game I ever went to I was like 12, 13 years old and I realized at that point that I wanted to play basketball. It's going to be really big to be in their presence and learn from them as well.

What do you think the USA Basketball Senior National Team Committee saw in your play this year that prompted your invitation?
I think that the one thing I developed this year that I didn't have last year was my leadership ability. I know that comes with experience, it comes with time, but knowing the game a lot more than before, knowing what play to call, knowing who to pass the ball to, knowing when to push it and when to throw it down. There are a lot of really good point guards out there in general that score, that do a lot of things that are really good. But one thing I think that stands out about me is that I don't have to score or just play offense to be a dominant player. Defense is something I put a lot of pride in, my assists is something I put a lot of pride in and I feel that the extra added points is just a bonus to my game.

What do you think of the coaching staff ?
I'm definitely going to be in the presence of people who are so knowledgeable about the game. I'm going to listen and be a sponge, soak up everything I can because I know that if I work hard enough they can help develop me as an even better player than what I am now. I'm really excited to learn as much as I can from all of them.