May 6, 2003
WACO, Texas - For the second straight year, Baylor sophomore post Steffanie Blackmon has accepted an invitation to the USA Basketball Women's National Team Trials.
Blackmon, a Dallas native, survived a cut from 33 players to 16 last year before being chosen as an alternate for the USA World Championship for Young Women Qualifying Team.
As a sophomore on Baylor's 24-11 team this season, Blackmon averaged 17.6 points and 8.0 rebounds a game earned second-team all-Big 12 honors from both the coaches and media. She led the Lady Bears in scoring in 19 games this season and in rebounding in 15. In addition, she blocked a team-leading 58 shots. Among Big 12 players, Blackmon ranked No. 4 in blocked shots, No. 5 in free throw percentage, No. 6 in scoring, No. 7 in rebounding and No. 12 in field goal percentage.
This year 60 of the top collegiate athletes have accepted invitations to the May 22-25 USA Basketball Women's National Team Trials, USA Basketball announced today. The invitations were issued by the USA Basketball Women's Collegiate Committee, chaired by University of Texas Senior Associate Athletics Director for Men's and Women's Athletics Chris Plonsky.
The USA Trials, which will be held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo., will be used to select a pair of 12-member 2003 USA Basketball Teams, including the USA World Championship For Young Women and USA Pan American Games squads. The USA Young Women's National Team, which will be comprised of athletes 21-years-old and younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1982), will compete in the inaugural FIBA World Championship For Young Women in Sibenik, Croatia, July 25 - Aug. 3; while the 2003 Pan American Games action is set to take place Aug. 2 - 9 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
The Ohio State University's Jim Foster will serve as head coach for the 2003 USA Basketball World Championship For Young Women Team and collegiate head coaches, Kathy Delaney-Smith of Harvard University (Mass.) and Felisha Legette-Jack of Hofstra University (N.Y.) will assist Foster.
The USA Pan American Games Team will be piloted by University of Virginia head coach Debbie Ryan, with collegiate head coaches Kathi Bennett of Indiana University and Trina Patterson of the University at Albany (N.Y.) acting as assistants.
