COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Former LSU All-Americans Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles have been selected to play for the 2008 United States Women’s Olympic Basketball Team that will seek to defend a fourth gold medal in Beijing later this summer, USA Basketball announced on Saturday.
Augustus and Fowles comprise the initial nine-player roster that will eventually expand to 12 players by July 1. The squad also includes three-time gold medalist Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks, two-time gold medalist Katie Smith of the Detroit Shock, Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm, Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter of the Phoenix Mercury, Tina Thompson of the Houston Comets and Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks.
Augustus and Fowles become the first players in LSU women’s basketball history to be named to a U.S. Olympic Team. Both were members of the 2007 USA Senior National Team.
“This is just a tremendous honor and opportunity for both Sylvia and Seimone,” LSU head coach Van Chancellor said. “This will be the greatest experience of their lives to be able to represent your country on the world’s biggest stage.”
“Not only is this a great honor for them, but this reflects upon the success of the LSU women’s basketball program and how special it is. I am so proud of them and for LSU.”
Chancellor is one of the most respected figures in USA Basketball history as he guided the Americans to their third straight gold medal as head coach at the 2004 Athens Games. Team USA posted a 5-0 record in pool play during his tenure en route to defeating Australia, 74-63, in the gold medal final.
Fowles helped lead the Lady Tigers to Final Four berths in all four years of her career. She was recently taken as the No. 2 overall selection by the Chicago Sky in the 2008 WNBA Draft. She has averaged 11.0 points and 1.3 rebounds per a game in the Sky’s three contests this season.
“I am just thankful for this opportunity to continue to showcase my talents,” Fowles said. “This is such a thrill for me because I did not start playing organized basketball until ninth grade. I am proud to be able to represent my country at the highest level.”
Fowles played in the Good Luck Beijing Tournament for the USA Women’s National Team in April. She was the leading scorer in four of the five games, and she averaged a team-leading 17.6 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.
During her four years at LSU, she helped lead the Lady Tigers to a 125-21 record, three SEC regular season titles and four NCAA Final Four appearances. She was named the 2008 WBCA National Defensive Player of the Year and the 2008 SEC Player of the Year. She is the SEC’s all-time rebounding leader with 1,570 boards and collected a school and SEC record 86 double-doubles.
Augustus is in her third season with the Minnesota Lynx where she earned the league’s rookie of the year award in 2006. This will mark Augustus’ seventh time in a USA Basketball jersey. In 2003, she was named USA Basketball’s Female Athlete of the Year. She was a member of the 2003 Team USA World University Games gold medal squad while also playing for the USA Senior National Team in 2006 and 2007.
“It is a privilege and an honor to be able to represent the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, in August,” Augustus said. “This is a dream come true for me and an opportunity that I have been striving for since I first started playing basketball. I am truly humbled by my selection to the Olympic team, and I am looking forward to bringing home another gold medal for the United States while representing the Minnesota Lynx organization and the LSU Tigers in Beijing.”
Augustus’s four-year career at LSU from 2003-06 remains arguably the most storied in program history. She received All-America honors all four times during her career and became the school’s only three-time State Farm All-American. She finished her career as the second leading scorer in LSU history with 2,702 points. She also set the NCAA record for double figure scoring games, reaching that figure in 132 of her 140 contests.
The U.S. Women’s Olympic Team opens Aug. 9 versus an opponent to be determined through the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and next faces host China on Aug. 11, Mali on Aug. 13 and another opponent to be determined on Aug. 15. The U.S. finishes off its preliminary play Aug. 17 against New Zealand.
Olympic women’s basketball competition will be held Aug. 9-23. Preliminary play is scheduled for August 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17; quarterfinal action takes place Aug. 19; semifinal play is slated for Aug. 21; and the women’s finals will be held Aug. 23.