Shock’s Cash, Ford, Nolan & Smith Join USAB’s 2007-08 Women’s Senior National Team

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Basketball today announced the 21-member 2007-08 USA Women’s Senior National Team, and four members of the Shock roster earned a spot on the list of Olympic hopefuls. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Smith, along with three time WNBA All-Stars Cheryl Ford and Deanna Nolan and two-time WNBA All-Star Swin Cash, will train with 17 other current and future WNBA stars over the next two years as the U.S. attempts to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games.

The remaining US roster consists of Seimone Augustus (Minnesota), Alana Beard (Washington), Sue Bird (Seattle), Tamika Catchings (Indiana), Jessica Davenport (Ohio State University), Katie Douglas (Connecticut), Sylvia Fowles (Louisiana State University), Taj McWilliams-Franklin (Los Angeles), DeLisha Milton-Jones (Washington), Courtney Paris (University of Oklahoma), Candace Parker (University of Tennessee), Cappie Pondexter (Phoenix), Sheryl Swoopes (Houston), Michelle Snow (Houston), Diana Taurasi (Phoenix), Tina Thompson (Houston) and Lindsay Whalen (Connecticut).

The USA’s next chance to qualify for the 2008 Olympics will be at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, slated for Sept. 25?29 in Valdivia, Chile. The gold medalist at that tournament will earn a berth to the Beijing Olympic 12-nation field. In addition to the USA, teams participating in the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship will be Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Jamaica and Mexico. The complete USA Women’s Senior National Team training plans, which will include domestic and international training camps and competition through 2008, will be announced at a later date.

The USA Senior Team’s 21 members own a combined 11 Olympic and eight World Championship gold medals, as well as numerous medals from other international competitions as all 21 members have donned a USA Basketball uniform in the past.

All 17 professional players on the roster have been named as a WNBA All-Star and 14 have earned either All-WNBA first or second team honors at least once. Bird, Catchings, Smith, Swoopes and Thompson were named to the WNBA All-Decade Team, while Taurasi was an honorable mention. Each of the four collegiate players were unanimous all-conference first team selections following the 2006-07 season.