June 13, 2010
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – For the fifth time in seven years, and the seventh time overall, a Notre Dame women’s basketball player will compete for the United States on the international stage, as incoming freshman guard Kayla McBride (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) was named to the final 12-member United States U18 National Team, it was announced Sunday afternoon by USA Basketball.
McBride also will be the second incoming Fighting Irish cager in as many years to put on the Stars & Stripes, following in the footsteps of rising sophomore guard Skylar Diggins (South Bend, Ind./Washington), who struck gold last August in Thailand as a co-captain with the USA U19 World Championship Team, earning her third gold medal in as many summers while playing for USA Basketball.
McBride made this year’s U18 National Team following six days of intensive trials from June 8-13 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo., where she competed with 26 other players ages 18-and-under (born on or after Jan. 1, 1992). McBride will remain in Colorado Springs for the next two weeks with the rest of Team USA, as it continues training for the eight-team FIBA U18 Americas Championship for Women, which will take place June 23-27 at the USOTC in Colorado Springs. The top four finishers at the tournament will qualify for the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship for Women in Chile.
The 2010 USA U18 National Team is coached by University of Hartford skipper Jennifer Rizzotti, with Florida State’s Sue Semrau and Central Florida’s Joi Williams serving on Rizzotti’s staff.
“We couldn’t be more proud of Kayla for this incredible accomplishment,” Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said. “She worked so hard and displayed a great character and work ethic during the USA Basketball trials and this is a fitting reward for that effort. Kayla is going to learn so much during the next month as part of Team USA and we’re all very excited to watch her represent our country.”
McBride was lauded by numerous national media outlets this past season, earning selections as a McDonald’s All-American, USA Today Second-Team All-USA, Parade Second-Team All-American, ESPN RISE Second-Team All-American, MaxPreps Fifth-Team All-American, Gatorade Pennsylvania High School Player of the Year and member of the 2010 ESPN Hoopgurlz All-Star Team. She also was ranked as one of the top 25 players in the nation in the Class of 2010 by both ESPN Hoopgurlz (20th) and All-Star Girls Report (22nd).
In March, McBride completed a stellar prep career at Erie’s Villa Maria Academy, where she sparked the Victors to a 28-2 record along with their second consecutive Pennsylvania Class AA state championship. McBride averaged 20.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, 5.6 steals and 4.9 assists per game as a high school senior, including 29 points and 11 rebounds in the Pennsylvania Class AA title game win over York Catholic.
A two-time Associated Press Pennsylvania Class AA Player of the Year and three-time all-state selection (first team the past two years), McBride helped Villa Maria amass a 106-15 (.876) record with two state titles and a state runner-up finish (2007). In her four-year career, the 5-foot-11 wing averaged 14.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.3 steals per game, including 19.1 ppg., 9.8 rpg., and 4.4 spg. in her final two seasons (when VMA compiled a 55-5 record). She also graduated as VMA’s career leader in points (1,727), rebounds (931), assists (474), steals (420) and blocked shots (191).
In addition to Diggins, other recent representatives of the Notre Dame women’s basketball program to compete on the world stage include: Melissa Lechlitner, who struck gold with the 2007 Women’s U19 World Championship Team (making Lechlitner the first South Bend-area female to earn a gold medal in international basketball competition), Megan Duffy, who claimed a gold medal as a co-captain and starter for the 2005 USA World University Games Team, and Ruth Riley, who was a member of the 2004 Women’s Senior National Team that won 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 (including incoming freshmen) have earned 11 medals in international competition, including six gold medals.
On March 12, the draw for the 2010 FIBA U18 Americas Championship For Women was held, and the USA has been placed in Group B, along with Argentina, Brazil and Puerto Rico. After round-robin play from June 23-25, the top two teams in each of the two groups will advance to the medal round. The semifinals will be played on June 26, with the gold medal game slated for June 27 — all games will be played in Sports Center I at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
Originally known as the FIBA Americas Junior World Championship Qualifier, the FIBA Americas U18 Championship For Women was held every four years from 1988 through 2004, and is now contested every other year. USA women’s teams boast of a remarkable 33-2 overall record in the U18/junior qualifiers and have won gold in 1988, 2000, 2004, 2006 and 2008 (the last coming in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with Diggins on the roster and current Fighting Irish associate coach Carol Owens serving as head coach), while capturing silver medals in 1992 and 1996.
— ND —
NOTE: The full USA Basketball release, including the complete 12-player U18 National Team roster, can be found by CLICKING HERE.