COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Rising seniors Laura Harper and Crystal Langhorne have made the final cut for the USA U21 World Championship team, which heads to France on June 18, before competing at the 2007 FIBA U21 World Championships in Moscow, Russia, June 29-July 8.

Crystal Langhorne (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) and Laura Harper (Elkins Park, Pa./Cheltenham) will try to help the United State defend its U21 World title, won in 2003.

Langhorne and Harper were two of 14 finalists selected during the initial tryouts at the US Olympic Training Center in late May. The 14 players were invited back for final cuts on June 12 to pare down the roster to the traveling squad of 12 players.

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 team concludes its domestic training on Friday evening, then travels to France for a June 18-25 training camp prior to the start of the U21 World Championship. While in France, the U.S. will play a three-game series against the French U21 National Team, June 18-20.

At the U21 Worlds, the Americans have been placed in Group B with Australia, Brazil, Hungary, Japan, and Spain. They open the tournament against the Australians on June 29. The elimination portion of the schedule begins with the quarterfinals on July 6. The medal games are slated for Sunday, July 8.

Langhorne and Harper go into the tournament with plenty international experience, having previously been members of several U.S. teams. Langhorne was Most Valuable Player of the 2005 FIBA U19 World Championship and was a tri-captain of the US U19 squad. After leading the team to the gold medal at the championship, she was selected the 2005 USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year.

Harper was a member of the 2004 USA Basketball Junior World Championship Qualifying team, which captured an automatic berth into the U19 World Championship the following summer. Starting all five games of the tournament in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, she helped the team capture a gold medal with a 5-0 record.

For more information on the championship, visit the official site at www.russia2007.fiba.com. For more information on USA Basketball, log onto www.usabasketball.com.

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