COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — LSU forward LaSondra Barrett is one of 27 of the nation’s top 19-and-under players who have been chosen to attend the 2009 USA Basketball Women’s U19 World Championship Team Trials, the USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Team Committee announced Thursday.
Trials to select finalists for the ?09 U19 squad will be held May 14-17 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Training camp will begin on July 8 in Colorado Springs, and the eventual 12-member roster will be announced prior to the team departing for Thailand.
Two-time defending FIBA U19 World Championship gold medalists, the USA will look to capture its third straight gold medal at the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship, scheduled for July 23 ? Aug. 2 in Bangkok, Thailand.
“It means a lot to be a part of something this special,” Barrett said. “To represent LSU on that level, especially when the program has produced USA players like Sylvia (Fowles), Temeka (Johnson) and Seimone (Augustus), is a tremendous honor. Allison (Hightower) and I have the chance to continue the legacy of representing LSU and playing for our country.
“I am looking forward to seeing basketball on a different level. I want to be able to take some aspect of the game I learn during this experience into my sophomore season at LSU.”
Barrett, the 2008-09 Southeastern Conference Co-Freshman of the Year, was instrumental in leading the Lady Tigers to a 19-11 overall record, a share of second place in the SEC regular season and an 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament berth.
Barrett ranked second on the squad in points per game with 11.4 while leading LSU in rebounds with 5.7 per contest. She became the first multi-time SEC Freshman of the Week in school history when she earned the honor four times during the year.
Her most notable performance came in her first career SEC game. The Jackson, Miss., native erupted for an LSU SEC record 27 points at Arkansas on Jan. 8 and set the tone for the remainder of the conference season.
Barrett’s invitation comes a day after Allison Hightower earned a spot on the USA Basketball World University Games Team Trials roster.
Included on the trials roster are 14 student-athletes who recently completed their freshman year at a NCAA Division I school, one who closed out her freshman campaign at a NJCAA Division I institution, 11 who finished their high school campaigns this year and one athlete who has one year of high school eligibility remaining.
Northern Illinois’ Carol Owens will serve as head coach of the team.
The 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship features 16 national teams comprised of athletes 19-years-old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1990) that qualified through their FIBA zone tournaments. Included in the field of nations are: Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Japan, Lithuania, Mali, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Tunisia and the USA.