ST. LOUIS — Marie Ferdinand will be joined by 19 of the top players in the nation on Saturday in St. Louis as they compete against each other in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Challenge.
The game is part of the Final Four festivities this weekend in St. Louis.
Ferdinand is one of 28 players selected overall to play, however eight will be unable to participate since their respective school will be competing in the Final Four.
“This will be a great opportunity to showcase my skills on a national level,” said Ferdinand, who led LSU in scoring with 21.1 points per game this season. “There will be players out there that I will be playing against in the WNBA one day, so it is a good chance for me to prove to them what I can do on the basketball court.”
Ferdinand scored 34 points in her final LSU game, a nationally televised loss to Final Four participant Purdue, 73-70, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in West Lafayette, Ind.
Selected a Kodak All-American on Thursday, Ferdinand is the first LSU player ever to play in the WBCA All-Star Challenge. She has also been honored this year by the Associated Press as a second-team All-American as well as being named first-team All-SEC by the coaches (unanimous) and the AP.
The game will be played at the Washington University Field House at 4 p.m. CT.
Home/Jazz Height Position School/Hometown
Tombi Bell 5-5 Pt. Guard Florida/Miami, FL
Janell Burse 6-5 Post Tulane/New Orleans, LA
Nicole LaVan 5-11 Post Cumberland College/Cleveland, OH
Kelly Miller 5-10 Pt. Guard Georgia/Rochester, MN
Semeka Randall 5-10 Perimeter Tennessee/Cleveland, OH
Tasha Rodgers 5-10 Perimeter Washington University/East St. Louis, IL
Georgia Schweitzer 6-0 Pt. Guard Duke/Columbus, OH
Lisa Shepherd 5-11 Perimeter Penn State/Richmond, IN
Tammy Sutton-Brown 6-4 Post Rutgers/Markham, Ontario
Brooke Wyckoff 6-1 Perimeter Florida State/Westchester, OH
Head Coach Lisa Stone (Drake, NCAA Div. I)
Assistant Coach Barbara Stevens (Bentley, NCAA Div. II) not attending
Assistant Coach Jim Littell (Seward County Community College, JC/CC)
Away/Blues Height Position School/Hometown
Kristeena Alexander 5-6 Pt. Guard George Washington /Hempstead, NY
LaQuanda Barksdale 5-11 Post North Carolina/Winston-Salem, NC
Cara Consuegra 5-8 Pt. Guard Iowa/Mt. Airy, MD
Marie Ferdinand 5-9 Perimeter Louisiana State/Miami, FL
Theresa LeCuyer 6-1 Post North Dakota/Anoka, MN
Nicole Levandusky 5-9 Perimeter Xavier/Palmerton, PA
Coco Miller 5-10 Perimeter Georgia/Rochester, MN
Tasha Pointer 5-6 Pt. Guard Rutgers/Chicago, IL
Maren Walseth 6-3 Post Penn State /Bloomington, MN
Head Coach Jane Albright (University Wisconsin, NCAA Div. I)
Assistant Coach Nan Carney-DeBord (Ohio Wesleyan University, NCAA Div. III)
Assistant Coach Sharon Baldwin (Life University, NAIA) not attending
Final Four Participants Selected for the All-Star Challenge Game:
Player Height Position School/Hometown
*Svetlana Abrosimova 6-2 Perimeter Connecticut/St. Petersburg, Russia
Camille Cooper 6-4 Post Purdue/Georgetown, KY
Katie Douglas 6-1 Perimeter Purdue/Indianapolis, IN
Niele Ivey 5-8 Pt. Guard Notre Dame/St. Louis, MO
*Shea Ralph 6-0 Perimeter Connecticut/Fayetteville, NC
Ruth Riley 6-5 Post Notre Dame/Macy, IN
Kelly Schumacher 6-5 Post Connecticut/Quyan, Candada
Jackie Stiles 5-8 Perimeter Southwest Missouri State/Claflin, KS
* injured