COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – LSU women’s basketball players LaSondra Barrett and Theresa Plaisance have been extended invitations to participate at two USA Basketball Women’s Team Trials at the end of the month, the USA Basketball Committee announced on Monday.
Barrett, who will be a senior in the fall, is one of 35 players from across the nation who have been invited to the 2011 USA Basketball Women’s World University Games Team Trials, May 22-25. Plaisance, who will be a sophomore next season, is one of 35 top 19-and-under athletes who have accepted invitations to attend the 2011 USA Women’s U19 World Championship Team Trials.
This will be Barrett’s second experience in a USA basketball jersey. The 6-foot-2 forward reunites with four of her former USA teammates who helped the Americans claim the gold medal at the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championships in Thailand. She seeks to become the first LSU player to make a USA World University Games roster since Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles did so in 2005.
“I always look forward to putting on the USA jersey and representing our country, especially going into my senior year,” said Barrett. “This is an exciting time for Theresa and I and we want to go and represent LSU to the best of our abilities. This is an experience we can learn from and bring to the rest of our team for next season.”
Plaisance, a native of Houma, was a member of the 2010 FIBA Americans U18 Championship squad that cruised to a 5-0 record and the gold medal last summer. Plaisance averaged 7.8 points per game and ranked second among all players in the tournament with nine blocks. As a freshman at LSU, Plaisance played in 21 games and averaged 4.7 minutes per contest off the bench.
Invitations to both trials were issued by the USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Team Committee, chaired by Sue Donohoe, NCAA vice president for Division I women’s basketball. The finalists for both squads will be chosen on May 25 following the training trials.
Barrett, a native of Jackson, Miss., is coming off an All-Southeastern Conference junior season after posting 12.2 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game. She reached milestones of 1,000 points and 500 rebounds during the year and was a WBCA State Farm Coaches’ Honorable Mention All-American.