July 16, 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Virginia's Monica Wright (Woodbridge,Va.) has been named to the official, 12-member 2007 USABasketball U19 World Championship Team roster, USABasketball announced on Sunday. The selections were made 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 has given us a quality group of component parts," said USA U19 and DePaul University head coach Doug Bruno. "We have great depth on the interior, and the inside is very strong. On the perimeter we also have strength with guards who can shoot the ball very well. It's a versatile team, and everybody on the floor has the ability to score.

"The gold medal remains to be earned. This is a talented enough team to win gold, but we really have to come together in a very short time and demonstrate chemistry for that to happen. When you are coaching a team like this, you have a very short amount of time. We still have offenses sets to work on and defenses to put in, but our overall concern is how well we are able to work with cohesiveness and togetherness."

The 2007 USA Basketball Women's U19 World Championship Team, composed of players 19-years-old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1988), will continue training in Washington, D.C., before departing for Europe and the 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship on July 17. The FIBA U19 World Championship, which features 15 other U19 national teams from around the world, will be contested July 26-Aug. 5 in Bratislava, Slovakia. In pool play, the U.S. will play China, Ivory Coast, and Lithuania.

The U.S. opens play in Bratislava on July 26 against Ivory Coast and then will face China on July 27 before concluding preliminary round play on July 28 against Lithuania. The second round will be contested July 30-Aug.1, the quarterfinals are slated for Aug. 3, semifinals will be held Aug. 4, and the gold medal will be contested Aug. 5.

The USA U19 women will practice at 10 a.m. at American University's Bender Arena on July 15, and at 10 a.m. on July 16 and 17 at the Washington Mystics Practice Facility in the Verizon Center.

On July 17 the team will depart for the Canary Islands, Spain, where it will play three exhibition contests. On July 19 the USA U19 women will play Australia at 1 p.m. (all times listed are EDT); the team will face Brazil at 1 p.m. on July 20; and then Spain at 1 p.m. on July 21.

"This is another great opportunity to compete with great players and a chance to represent the U.S.," Wright said. "I get to travel to the Canary Islands again and then onto Slovakia. I hope to enjoy this experience."

Wright, who celebrated her 19th birthday on Sunday, was unanimously selected as the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year and as the VaSID Rookie of the Year. The rising sophomore was also named a Gballmag.com Young All-American. The most decorated freshman in Virginia school history, she earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors eight times, the most of any Cavalier in school history.

This is Wright's third stint with USABasketball. She also competed at the 2006 U18 National Team Trials and donned a USAjersey at the 2005 Youth Development Festival.

For complete USABasketball release, visit: www.USABasketball.com.

2007 USA Basketball Women's U19 World Championship
Team Roster

NAME 			POS 	HT 	WT 	DOB 		COLLEGE / HIGH SCHOOL 		HOMETOWN

Victoria Baugh 		F 	6-4 	190 	05/21/89 	Sacramento  / *Tennessee 	Sacramento, Calif.

Angie Bjorklund 	G 	6-0 	170 	07/14/89 	University  / *Tennessee 	Spokane, Wash.

Allyssa DeHaan 		C 	6-9 	180 	06/21/88 	Michigan State 			Grandville, Mich.

Amy Jaeschke 		C 	6-5 	220 	04/26/89 	New Trier  / *Northwestern 	Wilmette, Ill.

Jantel Lavender 	C 	6-4 	210 	11/11/88 	Central Catholic /*Ohio St. 	Cleveland, Ohio

Melissa Lechlitner 	G 	5-7 	135 	01/24/88 	Notre Dame 			Mishawaka, Ind.

Italee Lucas 		G 	5-9 	152 	01/12/89 	Centennial  / *North Carolina 	Las Vegas, Nev.

Maya Moore 		F 	6-0 	162 	06/11/89 	Collins Hill / *Connecticut 	Lawrenceville, Ga.

Kayla Pedersen 		F 	6-4 	195 	04/14/89 	Red Mountain / *Stanford 	Fountain Hills, Ariz.

Jasmine Thomas 		G 	5-9 	135 	09/30/89 	Oakton H.S. / *Duke 		Fairfax, Va.

Krystal Thomas 		F 	6-5 	187 	06/10/89 	The First Academy / *Duke 	Orlando, Fla.

Monica Wright 		F 	5-11 	165 	07/15/88 	Virginia 			Woodbridge, Va.

Head Coach: Doug Bruno, DePaul
Assistant Coach: Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, Prairie View A&M
Assistant Coach: Carol Owens, Northern Illinois

* Signed a national letter of intent to attend the school indicated.

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