May 7, 2007
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – For the fifth time in six years, Notre Dame will be represented at the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Trials, as rising sophomore guards Ashley Barlow (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) and Melissa Lechlitner (Mishawaka, Ind./South Bend St. Joseph’s) have accepted invitations from USA Basketball to compete in the USA Junior National Team Trials, which will take place May 17-20 in Colorado Springs, Colo., at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. The invitations were issued by the USA Basketball Women’s Collegiate Committee, which is chaired by Sue Donohoe, the NCAA’s vice president of Division I women’s basketball.
A total of 37 players ages 19-and-under (born on or after Jan. 1, 1988) have been invited to take part in this month’s USA Basketball Junior National Team Trials, which will be used to select finalists for the 12-member team that will represent the United States at the 16-team U19 World Championship for Women, scheduled for July 26-Aug. 5 in Bratislava, Slovakia. The 2007 USA U19 World Championship Team will be coached by DePaul mentor Doug Bruno, with Prairie View A&M head coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke and Northern Illinois skipper (and former Notre Dame aide) Carol Owens serving as Bruno’s assistants.
“This is a great opportunity and I’m very pleased and grateful to be selected for these trials,” Barlow said. “This says a lot about the hard work we put in during our freshman season at Notre Dame and I’m looking forward to representing the Irish out in Colorado. It’s going to be especially exciting to have Melissa there with me, and hopefully, we can add a little Notre Dame green to Team USA’s red, white and blue this summer.”
“I’m very honored to have been chosen for this chance to represent our country on the basketball court,” Lechlitner added. “Both Ashley and I were proud of what we were able to accomplish this past season, and we also know that there’s a bright future ahead for the entire Notre Dame women’s basketball program. We’re both looking forward to going up against some of the best players in the nation and working to develop our game even more, while also making sure that Team USA is represented by the very best and brings home the gold.”
Barlow was a BIG EAST Conference All-Freshman Team selection in 2006-07 after helping Notre Dame to a 20-12 record (10-6 in the BIG EAST) and the program’s 12th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, where the Irish advanced to the second round. The 5-9 guard finished her rookie season second on the team in scoring (10.3 points per game; also fourth among BIG EAST freshmen), rebounding (5.4 rebounds per game), steals (1.97 steals per game; seventh in BIG EAST) and free throw percentage (.826; seventh in BIG EAST), while also leading the squad in three-point percentage (.328). Playing primarily as Notre Dame’s “sixth man,” Barlow scored in double figures 15 times last season, including a career-high 21 points on two occasions (Dec. 28 vs. Prairie View A&M and Feb. 26 at DePaul). She also recorded her first career double-double in her second college game, registering 19 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in an overtime win against Bowling Green, and tied her rebounding high-water mark by snaring 10 boards in Notre Dame’s NCAA Tournament first-round win over California.
Lechlitner made tremendous progress during her freshman season, joining Barlow on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team after averaging 6.3 points and 2.68 assists per game, ranking second on the team in the latter category. Serving as the secondary point guard for the Irish, Lechlitner scored in double figures eight times this past season, including a career-high 18 points vs. Syracuse on Jan. 20, and a solid 12-point outing in her NCAA Tournament debut against California. The 5-7 floor general also had five games with five-or-more assists, highlighted by a stellar nine-assist, no-turnover performance against St. John’s on Jan. 16. She was particularly sharp in BIG EAST play, ranking seventh in the conference with a 1.55 assist/turnover ratio, while her overall ratio of 1.36 would have ranked ninth in the BIG EAST if she had enough assists to qualify (minimum 3.0 apg. needed).
“We’re so excited and happy for Ashley and Melissa to be chosen for these trials by USA Basketball,” 21st-year Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said. “Both players had a significant impact on our success as a team last year, and it’s great to see them get rewarded like this. I’m confident that both of them will be super representatives of our program and our University at the trials in Colorado, and if they earn the opportunity, they’ll be excellent ambassadors on the world stage as members of Team USA at the U19 World Championships.”
Should either Barlow or Lechlitner be selected for the final 12-member USA U19 World Championship Team (whose roster will be chosen prior to the start of the international competition in late July), they would become the fifth Notre Dame women’s basketball player, and the third in four years, to compete for her country on the international level. Most recently, Megan Duffy earned a gold medal as a co-captain and starter for the 2005 USA World University Games Team, while Ruth Riley was a member of the 2004 U.S. Senior National Team that struck gold at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Riley also made prior USA Basketball appearances in 1998 (Select Team) and 1999 (World University Games Team), while former Irish All-Americans Katryna Gaither (two teams, two medals) and Beth Morgan (four teams, three medals) also have suited up for Team USA. All told, Notre Dame players have earned nine medals in international competition, including four gold medals.
Barlow and Lechlitner follow in the footsteps of current teammate (and rising junior guard) Lindsay Schrader as USA Basketball Trials participants. Schrader participated in last year’s USA Basketball U20 Women’s National Team Trials, making her second trip to Colorado Springs in three years (she was a finalist for the 2004 USA Women’s Junior World Championship Qualifying Team Trials, the precursor to what is now known as the U19 World Championship Team). In addition to Duffy’s gold-medal winning effort with the ’05 World University Games squad, former All-American Jacqueline Batteast took part in the USA Trials in both 2002 and 2003, while Teresa Borton attended in 2002 and Courtney LaVere competed in 2003.
Barlow and Lechlitner also are the only two current BIG EAST representatives slated to attend this year’s USA Junior National Team Trials. However, three incoming freshmen who will attend BIG EAST schools are on the trials roster — UConn’s Lorin Dixon and Maya Moore, as well as Rutgers’ Khadijah Rushdan. The complete roster of invitees for this year’s U19 Trials can be found on the USA Basketball web site.
“Our expectations in the USA are to win gold, and to embrace the process of hard work, ultra competitiveness and total team play necessary to achieve that goal,” Bruno said. “From this pool of 37 players invited to trials, we definitely have the talent to achieve that goal. I’m very excited to see how the players that won gold last year have improved. Now that they have experienced a year of USA Basketball competition, I’m looking forward to observing their dedication to the USA program. And I’m unbelievably excited to see so many new additions, many of whom have had a year of college seasoning.”
The USA qualified for the U19 World Championships after Bruno led the U18 squad to a 4-0 slate and gold medal at the zone qualifier, the 2006 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women, an event hosted by USA Basketball at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. FIBA, basketball’s international governing body, announced on March 6 the draw for the 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship For Women, and the USA has been placed in Group B, along with China, Ivory Coast and Lithuania.
Originally known as the FIBA Junior World Championship, the tournament is held every four years and was first held in 1985. USA women’s teams are 32-10 in the U19/Junior World Championships, capturing gold with an 8-0 record most recently in 2005.
— ND —