May 23, 2005

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - USA Basketball selected 15 finalists for the USA Women's Under-19 World Championship Team, which was announced on Sunday, and Maryland Terrapins Crystal Langhorne and Marissa Coleman were among the finalists.

Langhorne (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) and incoming freshman Coleman (Cheltenham, Md./St. John's) were selected following the National Team Trials held in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 19-21. The team will go through one more round of cuts, reducing the squad size to 12, during training camp.

The U19 squad will have to get prepared quickly, as the team is slated for the first competition at the International Sports Invitational, June 8-11, to be held on the campus of San Diego State University. At the Invitational, the USA will play games against U19 teams from Australia, China and Russia. Following a two week break, the U.S. will regroup in Colorado Springs, Colo., for a June 28- July 2 training camp, then head to Washington, D.C., to train July 3-6. Following five additional days (July 7-11) of training and two exhibition games against Hungary's U19 Team in Budapest, Hungary, the 2005 USA U19 Team will travel to Tunis, Tunisia, for the July 15-24 FIBA U19 World Championship Tournament.

A McDonald's, WBCA and Parade All-American, as well as the Washington Posts's All-Met Player of the Year, Coleman, along with current Terp Laura Harper (Elkins Park, Pa./Cheltenham) participated with U19 team last year and helped the USA secure its 2005 FIBA Women's U19 World Championship berth after earning the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Women's Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

Formerly known as the FIBA Women's Junior World Championship, the 2005 FIBA U19 World Championship features 12 teams, and is scheduled to run July 15-24 in Hammamet and Tunis, Tunisia. The USA has been placed in preliminary group A and its first round opponents will be Russia on July 15, then the USA will face Congo, Serbia & Montenegro, Puerto Rico and will close preliminary round action on July 20 against South Korea. Group B consists of Australia, Canada, China, Hungary, Spain and Tunisia. The tournament is held every four years.

The 2005 ACC Rookie of the Year, Langhorne is making her first appearance on the U19 team and is coming off a successful freshman campaign at Maryland, where she averaged 17.2 points per game and 10.6 rebounds per game en route to second team All-ACC nods.

To be eligible for the 2005 USA U19 World Championship Team, an athlete must have been born on or after Jan. 1, 1986 (19-years-old or younger).

PLAYER QUOTES:
Marissa Coleman
How did you feel when you heard your name called?
I felt great. I was kind of nervous waiting to hear my name called.

Did you feel you performed well this weekend or were you still unsure?
I felt nervous. I wasn't that happy with my performance this weekend, but I did well last night.

Do you think your experience last summer as a member of the 2004 USA Junior National Team will help you make the final cut?
I definitely do think I have an advantage, being on the team last year. Just to know about the practices and how hard I need to play.

What would it mean for you to make the team?
It would mean a lot, being considered one of the best, to represent my country, in such a great tournament.

Crystal Langhorne
How did you feel when your name was called? I was pretty excited. I was overwhelmed by it. All these great players out here and we're selected, it's a great feeling.

Did you feel you played well this weekend, were you feeling confident or still a little nervous?
I was a little nervous. I didn't know what was going to happen. I think I was doing okay, but you never know.

What would it mean for you to be named to this team?
It would mean so much, playing for our country, playing in Africa this year, it would be a good feeling.

What are you going to do between now and training camp to make sure you're one of the final players?
I'm going to run, work on the little things, stuff that I usually do.

-TERPS-