COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Lady Tiger basketball sophomores Doneeka Hodges and Temeka Johnson were two of 36 of the nation’s top 20-and-under players who have selected invitations to try out for the 2002 USA Basketball World Championship for Young Women Qualifying Team.
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. On May 20 following the three-day Trials, which will be held May 17-19 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., the Committee will announce finalists for the U.S. squad.
An AP and womenscollegehoops.com honorable mention All-America selection, Johnson was also a member of the SEC All-Tournament team. The point guard from New Orleans led the SEC in assists and finished the season ranked second in assists in single season in school history, despite missing the first six games of the year.
After stepping into the staring role in just her third collegiate game, she also went on to break the school record for assists by a sophomore. In addition, she set the school single-game assist record with 15 against Florida.
Stepping up when it mattered, she recorded a career-high 11 rebounds against Colorado in the NCAA Tournament and recorded a career-high 22 points in the SEC Tournament Championship game against Vanderbilt.
Hodges, a second-team All-SEC and All-Louisiana selection from New Orleans, was second on the team with 15.3 points per game, ranking in the top 20 in the league in points per game. In addition, she finished the season ranked in the top 10 in points and assists by a sophomore.
After just two seasons, she ranks fifth in career three-pointers made and sixth in career three-pointers attempted in LSU history. This past season, she ranked seventh in single-season three-pointers made and attempted in school history.
Against Ole Miss, she recorded a career-high 29 points. On nine different occasions, she scored over 20 points last season and had two double-figure rebounding games. In addition, she was named the Most Valuable Player of the womenscollegehoops.com Crawfish Classic.
The eventual 12-member U.S. team, which will be comprised of U.S. citizens 20-years-old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1982), will compete in the Confederation of Pan American Basketball Associations (COPABA) World Championship For Young Women Qualifying Tournament.
Hosted by Brazil in Ribeirao Preto July 17-21 and featuring eight teams from North, South and Central America as well as the Caribbean, the top three nations will qualify for the inaugural International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Championship For Young Women, which is scheduled to be played in Dubrovnik, Croatia in July 2003.
USA team training will kick off on July 7 in Colorado Springs and run through July 11. Following the July training camp, during which will time the final 12-member squad will be named, the United States is scheduled to continue its training July 12-20 in Brazil prior to the start of the 2002 COPABA Qualifying Tournament.
Included among the invitees are: Jacqueline Batteast (Notre Dame / South Bend, Ind.); Tera Bjorklund (Colorado / St. Peter, Minn.); Betsy Boardman (Arizona State / Portland, Ore.); Teresa Borton (Notre Dame / Yakima, Wash.); Kala Bowers (Texas / Woodward, Okla.); Kara Brown-Braxton (Georgia / Jackson, Mich.); Shameka Christon (Arkansas / Hot Springs, Ark.); Ebony Felder (Georgia / Jackson, Miss.); Cisti Greenwalt (Texas Tech / Clovis, N.M.); Vanessa Hayden (Florida / Orlando, Fla.); SeSe Helm (Kentucky / Bowling Green, Ky.); Doneeka Hodges (LSU / New Orleans, La.); Ebony Hoffman (Southern California / Harbor City, Calif.); Sandora Irvin (Texas Christian / Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.); Dionnah Jackson (Oklahoma / St. Louis, Mo.); Amber Jacobs (Boston College / Clarks Summit, Pa.); Temeka Johnson (LSU / New Orleans, La.); Laurie Koehn (Kansas State / Hesston, Kan.); Kelly Mazzante (Penn State / Montoursville, Pa.); Julie McBride (Syracuse / Mechanicville, N.Y.); Janel McCarville (Minnesota / Stevens Point, Wis.); Kristen O’Neill (Washington / Lynwood, Wash.); Amber Obaze (Louisiana Tech / Dallas, Texas ); Ugo Oha (George Washington / Houston, Texas ); Nicole Ohlde (Kansas State / Clay Center, Kan.); Jia Perkins (Texas Tech / Granbury, Texas ); Cappie Pondexter (Rutgers / Chicago, Ill.); Heather Schreiber (Texas / Windthorst, Texas ); Stacy Stephens (Texas / Winnsboro, Texas ); University of Connecticut freshman-to-be Ann Strother (Highlands Ranch H.S. / Highlands Ranch, Colo.); Kelley Suminski (Stanford / Chester, N.J.); Brandi Teamer (Virginia / Joliet, Ill.); Christi Thomas (Georgia / Buford, Ga.); Tanesheia Thompson (Gulf Coast Community College / Roanoke, Ala.); Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota / Hutchinson, Minn.) and Dee-Dee Wheeler (Arizona / Chicago, Ill.).