June 13, 2005

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - After the USA Under-19 Women's World Championship Team captured a gold medal at the 2005 Sports International Invitational in San Diego, Calif., USA Basketball announced this summer's U-19 squad with Terrapins Marissa Coleman and Crystal Langhorne among the 12-player roster. The player and coach selections were made by the USA Basktball Women's Collegiate Committee.

With the help of Coleman (Cheltenham, Md./St. John's [D.C.]) and Langhorne (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro), the USA went 4-0 with wins over Russia (89-69), Australia (82-74) and China (89-50), then topping the Russians, 73-57, in the gold-medal game. The Red, White and Blue outscored its opponents, 83.0-62.5, and outrebounded them, 44.2-33.0.

Coming off an impressive freshman campaign with the Terrapins which led to ACC Rookie of the Year nods and a second team All-ACC selection, Langhorne averaged a team-leading 13.5 points per game, while also hauling down 6.0 boards, which was second-best on the squad. She led all players in the tournament with an outstanding .880 field goal percentage, going 22-for-25 from the floor. She also had a solid outing at the charity stripe, connecting on 10-of-12 attempts for an .833 free throw percentage.

Langhorne had 21 points and 10 rebounds in the USA's tightly-contested game vs. Australia, which the Americans won, 82-74, while going 9-for-9 from the field. In the next contest vs. China, she was perfect, once again, knocking down five field goal attempts for 11 points. She closed out the tournament, tallying 14 points and eight rebounds en route to the gold medal.

A Parade and McDonald's High School All-American, Coleman, who will be a freshman at the University of Maryland in the fall, is making her second stint on the U19 World Championship squad. Last summer, she helped the U.S. win gold at the U19 World Championship Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico and a berth into the FIBA U19 World Championship, which will be played in July in Tunisia. At the 2005 Sports International Invitational, her best outing came in the win over the Chinese, tallying eight points, six rebounds and three steals as a starter.

The USA squad will regroup June 28 in Colorado Springs, Colo. to train there until July 2 before heading to American University in Washington D.C. to practice from July 3-6. Following five additional days (July 7-11) of training and two exhibition games (July 9 and 10) 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.