BATON ROUGE — LSU’s Marie Ferdinand has been selected as one of 12 players to compete for the United States in the 2000 Jones Cup, USA Basketball announced on Tuesday.
Ferdinand, a native of Miami, Fla., earned a spot on the team after six days of trials that featured 41 of the nation’s top women’s college basketball players. The 12 member Jones Cup Team was chosen by the USA Basketball Women’s Select Team Committee.
The USA Jones Cup Team will train July 2-12 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The Jones Cup competition will be held July 16-20 in Taipei, Taiwan. The USA Jones Cup team will also play the USA National Team in an exhibition contest on Sept. 3 in Honolulu.
Ferdinand becomes the first LSU player since Cornelia Gayden in 1995 to compete for the United States in international competition.
“I’m excited and honored to be a part of this,” Ferdinand said. “This is a big step for me. I have put a lot into this and it’s a really big honor.”
Ferdinand, who will be a senior next year for LSU, led the Lady Tigers to a 25-8 overall mark and to the Elite Eight at the NCAA Tournament last year. Ferdinand ranked third in the Southeastern Conference in both scoring (17.5 per game) and assists (5.3 per game) and she led the league with 2.5 steals a contest.
Ferdinand earned all-NCAA East Regional honors after leading the Lady Tigers to a 79-66 win over Duke in the Sweet 16 before LSU fell to top-ranked and eventual national champion Connecticut, 86-71, in the quarterfinals. Ferdinand scored 22 points to go with eight assists against Duke and she followed that with 17 points, four steals and three assists against UConn.
Ferdinand was a first team all-SEC selection in 2000 and she was also a third team all-America pick by the Women’s Basketball Journal. Ferdinand enters her senior season with the Lady Tigers with 994 points and ranked ninth in school history with 160 steals and 10th in assists with 277.
“To be named to this team is a tribute to just how hard Marie has worked, particularly in the last two years,” LSU coach Sue Gunter said. “She has been totally committed to basketball. This is a just and fitting award for her hard work.
“By making this team, she’ll also be put in a position to showcase her talents and abilities an at even higher level. She’ll be with an outstanding group of players and this type of experience will only make her a better basketball player”
Ferdinand will be joined on the team by Chantelle Anderson of Vanderbilt, Sue Bird, Kelly Schumacher and Shea Ralph of Connecticut, Camille Cooper of Purdue, Deanna Jackson of UAB, Brandi McCain of Florida, Loree Payne of Washington, Michelle Snow of Tennessee, Jackie Stiles of Southwest Missouri State and Brooke Wyckoff of Florida State.
The USA Jones Cup team will be coached by Virginia Tech head coach Bonnie Henrickson. Henrickson will be assisted by St. Joseph’s University head coach Stephanie Gaitley and Grambling head coach Rusty Ponton.
“We’ve got a great combination of athleticism and skill,” Henrickson said. “We’re pretty strong in the post and we’ve got perimeter players who understand that they are going to have to handle the pressure to find those guys inside. We will run so we can maximize our athleticism.”
The United States, winners of the gold medal when it last competed in the Jones Cup in 1998, has collected eight gold medals, four silver medals and four bronze medals in 18 Jones Cup competitions. The USA is 110-22 overall in Jones Cup play.