June 17, 2007

STANFORD, Calif.- Candice Wiggins was named to the USA U21 National Team that will compete in the upcoming 2007 FIBA U21 World Championships in Moscow, Russia.

Wiggins continued to cement her reputation as one of the nation's premier players during her junior season in 2006-07, earning Kodak/WBCA and Associated Press All-America honors for the third straight year.

Wiggins led the Cardinal in scoring (16.9 ppg) and three-pointers (82) in 29 games played and 28 starts. A 46-percent shooter from the field, Wiggins ranked second in assists (96) while snagging 4.1 rebounds per game. She scored in double-figures in 25 games and scored at least 20 points in eight games this year, including a season-best 30-point effort at Arizona State on Jan. 27 that resulted in her second Pac-10 Player of the Week honor.

A two-time Pac-10 Player of the Year, Wiggins enters her senior year with 1842 career points- a total that ranks fifth-best in school history and only 373 behind Kate Starbird's record of 2215. In addition, Wiggins needs to knock down only three more triples to become the school's all-time leader in that category.

The final 12-member team also includes: Jolene Anderson (Wisconsin / Port Wing, Wis.); DeWanna Bonner (Auburn / Fairfield, Ala.); Essence Carson (Rutgers / Paterson, N.J.); Laura Harper (Maryland / Elkins Park, Pa.); Ashley Houts (Georgia / Trenton, Ga.); Crystal Langhorne (Maryland / Willingboro, N.J.); Marscilla Packer (Ohio State / Pickerington, Ohio); Paris; Kia Vaughn (Rutgers / Bronx, N.Y.); Abby Waner (Duke / Highlands Ranch, Colo.); and Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton (Purdue / Naperville, Ill.).

The selections were made by a subcommittee of the USA Basketball Women's Collegiate Committee, which is chaired by Sue Donohoe, the NCAA's vice president of Division I women's basketball. The USA Collegiate Subcommittee included athlete representative Beth Cunningham (Virginia Commonwealth University), a member of the 1999 USA Pan American Games Team; NCAA representative Jim Foster (Ohio State University); and NAIA representative Martha Gore-Algernon (University of Mobile).

"This is a fantastic group, I'm really excited about this group," said USA U21 National Team and Duke University (N.C.) head coach Joanne P. McCallie. "They're all very talented and it's going to be fun to go from being individually elite to building an elite team. That's the process we're in right now. I think we've gotten better every day and I definitely have the confidence that every single one of these players will be able to help us in various ways. The excitement surrounding the team now is taking it to the next level as we work toward the U21 World Championship."

The USA concludes its domestic training this evening at 5:00 p.m. (all times local) at the U.S. Olympic Training Center Sports Center I in Colorado Springs, Colo. The squad will then travel to Antibes, France, for a June 18-25 training camp prior to the start of the U21 World Championship on June 29 in Moscow. While in France, the U.S. will play a three-game series against the French U21 National Team at 7:00 p.m. (1:00 p.m. EDT) on June 18, 19 and 20. The first contest is slated to be played in Monaco, on June 19 the teams will face each other in Antibes and the series concludes in La Garde on June 20.

Included on the squad are seven who helped the U.S. qualify for the FIBA U21 World Championship and a total of nine who have won gold medals in international competition. The seven athletes who return from the 2006 USA U20 National Team that captured the gold medal in Mexico City, Mexico, include Anderson, Bonner, Carson, Packer, Paris, Vaughn and Wisdom-Hylton. In 2005 Anderson, Carson, Langhorne, Paris, Waner and Wiggins captured the gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championship. Prior to the U19 Worlds, that group also won the 2005 International Sports Invitational gold medal. In 2004 Carson, Harper, Paris, Waner and Wiggins started their age group off on the right foot by sweeping the competition at the 2004 FIBA Americas U18 Championship to collect the gold medal. Getting their start in a USA Basketball uniform at the 2004 USA Youth Development Festival were Paris, Vaughn and Waner; while Carson, Harper, Langhorne, Packer, Wiggins and Wisdom-Hylton all competed in the 2003 USA Youth Development Festival.

The United States was placed in Group B in the 12-nation 2007 FIBA U21 World Championship along with Australia, Brazil, Hungary, Japan and Spain. Group A includes Belgium, Canada, China, Mali, France and Russia.