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Fowles Named to U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball Team
USA Basketball today announced that Chicago Sky rookie center Sylvia Fowles will play for the U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball Team in Beijing this summer, as it defends the USA’s string of three consecutive Olympic gold medals. The initial roster also includes three-time Olympic gold medalist Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles Sparks), two-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Smith (Detroit Shock), 2004 Olympic gold medalists Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury) and Tina Thompson (Houston Comets); and Olympic first-timers Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx), Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks) and Cappie Pondexter (Phoenix Mercury).
The USA Basketball Women’s Senior National Team Committee will continue to discuss the final three roster spots before finalizing the 12-member team by July 1.
Fowles played in the Good Luck Beijing Tournament for the USA Basketball Women’s National Team in April. She was the leading scorer in 4 of the 5 games, and averaged a team-leading 17.6 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. The team won silver in the tournament, playing with only three WNBA veterans.
“We’ve known for awhile how much Sylvia can add to our team,” said U.S. Olympic head coach Anne Donovan. “But after our recent trip to China, it really solidified how much of an impact she can have. As our leading scorer and rebounder, she really showed how dominant she can be internationally for us.”
Fowles was selected by the Sky with the second overall pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft. During her four years at LSU, she helped lead the Lady Tigers to a 125-21 record, three SEC regular season titles (twice with perfect league records), and four NCAA Final Four appearances. She was named the 2008 WBCA National Defensive Player of the Year and the 2008 SEC Player of the Year. She is the SEC’s all-time rebounding leader and collected a school and SEC record 86 double-doubles. Fowles did not play organized basketball until the eighth grade and less than two years later was the first high school girl to dunk in a game, using two hands to dunk twice in a regional playoff game for Edison High School.
“I’m just thrilled to have these nine players officially named to the team,” said Donovan. “It’s such a great mixture of Olympic gold medalists with some really tremendous young talent. I love the combination of players that we have. We have Olympians who have experienced multiple Games like Lisa Leslie and Katie Smith, some who are returning for their second Olympics and then we have a very talented group of first-timers. Looking at these nine players, we’ve really covered the gamut in terms of experience and we have a tremendous balance of perimeter and post play.”
“We know it will not be an easy road to the gold medal in Beijing -- the rest of the world has gotten much better over the last four years,” said USA Basketball vice president for senior women and chair of the selection committee Reneé Brown, WNBA chief of basketball operations and player relations. “However, we feel that this group will continue to represent their country with pride and honor and compete at the highest level that is expected when representing USA Basketball. All of these athletes have played for Anne in the past, work well together and know her system. These are nine great players who are ready to face any challenge.
“We still have three more players to add to the team and we’re hoping to add a tough defensive stopper on the perimeter who can also score for us, as well as at least another post player. The Committee will continue to look at all the remaining players in our pool, it’s not a decision we take lightly. It will be a tough decision.”
Not only does the ’08 squad possess a combined eight Olympic gold medals, the athletes own a wealth of international experience. All nine have worn red, white and blue and returned to the United States with at least one gold. Included are seven who have competed at a FIBA World Championship, including Leslie and Smith, who won gold in 1998 and 2002. Also winning gold at the 2002 Worlds, where Leslie captured MVP honors, were Bird and Thompson; while Augustus, Bird, Parker, Smith, Taurasi and Thompson were all members of the 2006 USA World Championship Team that took the bronze medal with an 8-1 slate.
In 2007, Augustus, Bird, Parker, Pondexter, Smith, Taurasi and Thompson played key roles in the USA’s Olympic qualifying berth. The seven helped the U.S. strike gold with an unblemished 5-0 record at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, where only the winner earned the right to advance to Beijing. FIBA conducted the draw to determine the Olympic preliminary round pools and schedule on April 26 in Beijing. The U.S. women were selected for Group B, as were host China, Africa champ Mali, New Zealand and two teams to be determined through the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament that takes place June 9-15 in Madrid, Spain.
Group A for the women’s competition features 2006 FIBA world champion Australia, Russia, South Korea, and three teams that will be determined through the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Olympic women’s basketball competition will be held Aug. 9-23. Preliminary play is scheduled for August 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17; quarterfinal action takes place Aug. 19; semifinal play is slated for Aug. 21; and the women’s finals will be held Aug. 23. The U.S. Women’s Olympic Team opens Aug. 9 versus an opponent to be determined through the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and next faces host China on Aug. 11, Mali on Aug. 13 and another opponent to be determined on Aug. 15. The U.S. finishes off its preliminary play Aug. 17 against New Zealand. All game times are still to be assigned.
The defending Olympic champs, the USA women will be vying for a fourth consecutive Olympic gold. Since women’s basketball was officially staged at the 1976 Olympics, the Americans have collected a record five gold medals, one silver and one bronze medal, while compiling a 42-3 (.933) overall record in seven Olympic appearances (the United States chose not to participate in the 1980 Olympic Games).
The 2007-08 USA Basketball Women’s National Team participated in six different training camps over the past 15 months, while the USA Select Team, featuring members of the USA National Team, competed in the 2007 FIBA World League Tournament. During the team’s training the USA compiled a 25-2 mark against nine different national teams and five professional club teams, earned the gold medal at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship and the silver medal at the 2008 Good Luck Beijing Tournament. Additionally, the USA Select Team posted a 3-2 slate, brought home the silver medal from the 2007 FIBA World League Tournament and notched victories against a pair of Russia’s top professional teams and the defending Australia WNBL champs.
Donovan is being assisted on the sidelines by Mike Thibault, head coach of the WNBA Connecticut Sun and collegiate head coaches Gail Goestenkors of the University of Texas and the University of South Carolina’s Dawn Staley.
The 2007-08 USA Basketball Women’s National Team features a total of 29 athletes on its roster, which was selected by the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Committee. The final three members of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team will come from the USA National Team roster.
In addition to Brown, the USA Basketball Women’s Senior National Team Committee includes: athlete representatives Jennifer Azzi, a 1996 U.S. Olympic Team member, and Teresa Edwards, a five-time Olympian; New York Liberty Vice President and General Manager Carol Blazejowski, Minnesota Lynx Chief Operating Officer Roger Griffith, Indiana Fever Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Kelly Krauskopf and Los Angeles Sparks General Manager Penny Toler serve as the WNBA representatives on the Committee; while University of Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt is the NCAA representative.
USA Basketball is the national governing body responsible for men’s and women’s basketball in the United States and is responsible for representing the USA in international competitions.
Three players TBD
Head Coach: Anne Donovan
Assistant Coach: Gail Goestenkors, University of Texas
Assistant Coach: Dawn Staley, University of South Carolina
Assistant Coach: Mike Thibault, Connecticut Sun
Qualifiers A, B, C, D and E will be determined through the 2008 Olympics women’s basketball competition which will be determined at the 2008 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women that is scheduled for June 9-15, in Madrid, Spain.
Preliminary Round:
Preliminary round game times are to be determined. Game times are 9:00 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 2:30 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 8:00 p.m. and 10:15 p.m.
Saturday, August 9
9:00 a.m. Qualifier C - Australia
11:15 a.m. Mali - New Zealand
2:30 p.m. Qualifier E - China
4:45 p.m. Qualifier a - South Korea
8:00 p.m. USA - Qualifier D
10:15 p.m. Russia - Qualifier B
Monday, August 11
9:00 a.m. New Zealand - Qualifier E
11:15 a.m. Qualifier D - Mali
2:30 p.m. South Korea - Russia
4:45 p.m. Qualifier B - Qualifier C
8:00 p.m. China - USA
10:15 p.m. Australia - Qualifier A
Wednesday, August 13
9:00 a.m. Qualifier C - Russia
11:45 a.m. Qualifier E - Qualifier D
2:30 p.m. Qualifier A - Qualifier B
4:45 p.m. New Zealand - China
8:00 p.m. Australia - South Korea
10:15 p.m. Mali – USA
Friday, August 15
9:00 a.m. Qualifier D - New Zealand
11:15 a.m. Qualifier B - Australia
2:30 p.m. Russia - Qualifier A
4:45 p.m. China - Mali
8:00 p.m. USA - Qualifier E
10:15 p.m. South Korea - Qualifier C
Sunday, August 17
9:00 a.m. Qualifier E - Mali
11:15 a.m. Australia - Russia
2:30 p.m. Qualifier B - South Korea
4:45 p.m. Qualifier A - Qualifier C
8:00 p.m. Qualifier D - China
10:15 p.m. New Zealand – USA
Quarterfinals
The game order and time for the four Quarterfinal games will be known by the evening of August 18. The quarterfinals game times are 2:30 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 8:00 p.m. and 10:15 p.m.
Tuesday, August 19
Time TBD Game 61: B2 - A3
Time TBD Game 62: A1 - B4
Time TBD Game 63: A2 - B3
Time TBD Game 64: B1 - A4
Semifinals
The exact game order and time for the two Semifinal games will be known by the evening of August 20. The semifinals game times are 8:00 p.m. and 10:15 p.m.
Thursday, August 21
Time TBD Winner 61 - Winner 62
Time TBD Winner 63 - Game 64
Finals
Saturday, August 23
7:30 p.m. Bronze Medal Game: Semifinals Losers
10:00 p.m. Gold Medal Game: Semifinals Winners
Beijing, China is +12 hours from EDT.
The USA Basketball Women’s Senior National Team Committee will continue to discuss the final three roster spots before finalizing the 12-member team by July 1.
Fowles played in the Good Luck Beijing Tournament for the USA Basketball Women’s National Team in April. She was the leading scorer in 4 of the 5 games, and averaged a team-leading 17.6 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. The team won silver in the tournament, playing with only three WNBA veterans.
“We’ve known for awhile how much Sylvia can add to our team,” said U.S. Olympic head coach Anne Donovan. “But after our recent trip to China, it really solidified how much of an impact she can have. As our leading scorer and rebounder, she really showed how dominant she can be internationally for us.”
Fowles was selected by the Sky with the second overall pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft. During her four years at LSU, she helped lead the Lady Tigers to a 125-21 record, three SEC regular season titles (twice with perfect league records), and four NCAA Final Four appearances. She was named the 2008 WBCA National Defensive Player of the Year and the 2008 SEC Player of the Year. She is the SEC’s all-time rebounding leader and collected a school and SEC record 86 double-doubles. Fowles did not play organized basketball until the eighth grade and less than two years later was the first high school girl to dunk in a game, using two hands to dunk twice in a regional playoff game for Edison High School.
“I’m just thrilled to have these nine players officially named to the team,” said Donovan. “It’s such a great mixture of Olympic gold medalists with some really tremendous young talent. I love the combination of players that we have. We have Olympians who have experienced multiple Games like Lisa Leslie and Katie Smith, some who are returning for their second Olympics and then we have a very talented group of first-timers. Looking at these nine players, we’ve really covered the gamut in terms of experience and we have a tremendous balance of perimeter and post play.”
“We know it will not be an easy road to the gold medal in Beijing -- the rest of the world has gotten much better over the last four years,” said USA Basketball vice president for senior women and chair of the selection committee Reneé Brown, WNBA chief of basketball operations and player relations. “However, we feel that this group will continue to represent their country with pride and honor and compete at the highest level that is expected when representing USA Basketball. All of these athletes have played for Anne in the past, work well together and know her system. These are nine great players who are ready to face any challenge.
“We still have three more players to add to the team and we’re hoping to add a tough defensive stopper on the perimeter who can also score for us, as well as at least another post player. The Committee will continue to look at all the remaining players in our pool, it’s not a decision we take lightly. It will be a tough decision.”
Not only does the ’08 squad possess a combined eight Olympic gold medals, the athletes own a wealth of international experience. All nine have worn red, white and blue and returned to the United States with at least one gold. Included are seven who have competed at a FIBA World Championship, including Leslie and Smith, who won gold in 1998 and 2002. Also winning gold at the 2002 Worlds, where Leslie captured MVP honors, were Bird and Thompson; while Augustus, Bird, Parker, Smith, Taurasi and Thompson were all members of the 2006 USA World Championship Team that took the bronze medal with an 8-1 slate.
In 2007, Augustus, Bird, Parker, Pondexter, Smith, Taurasi and Thompson played key roles in the USA’s Olympic qualifying berth. The seven helped the U.S. strike gold with an unblemished 5-0 record at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, where only the winner earned the right to advance to Beijing. FIBA conducted the draw to determine the Olympic preliminary round pools and schedule on April 26 in Beijing. The U.S. women were selected for Group B, as were host China, Africa champ Mali, New Zealand and two teams to be determined through the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament that takes place June 9-15 in Madrid, Spain.
Group A for the women’s competition features 2006 FIBA world champion Australia, Russia, South Korea, and three teams that will be determined through the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Olympic women’s basketball competition will be held Aug. 9-23. Preliminary play is scheduled for August 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17; quarterfinal action takes place Aug. 19; semifinal play is slated for Aug. 21; and the women’s finals will be held Aug. 23. The U.S. Women’s Olympic Team opens Aug. 9 versus an opponent to be determined through the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and next faces host China on Aug. 11, Mali on Aug. 13 and another opponent to be determined on Aug. 15. The U.S. finishes off its preliminary play Aug. 17 against New Zealand. All game times are still to be assigned.
The defending Olympic champs, the USA women will be vying for a fourth consecutive Olympic gold. Since women’s basketball was officially staged at the 1976 Olympics, the Americans have collected a record five gold medals, one silver and one bronze medal, while compiling a 42-3 (.933) overall record in seven Olympic appearances (the United States chose not to participate in the 1980 Olympic Games).
The 2007-08 USA Basketball Women’s National Team participated in six different training camps over the past 15 months, while the USA Select Team, featuring members of the USA National Team, competed in the 2007 FIBA World League Tournament. During the team’s training the USA compiled a 25-2 mark against nine different national teams and five professional club teams, earned the gold medal at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship and the silver medal at the 2008 Good Luck Beijing Tournament. Additionally, the USA Select Team posted a 3-2 slate, brought home the silver medal from the 2007 FIBA World League Tournament and notched victories against a pair of Russia’s top professional teams and the defending Australia WNBL champs.
Donovan is being assisted on the sidelines by Mike Thibault, head coach of the WNBA Connecticut Sun and collegiate head coaches Gail Goestenkors of the University of Texas and the University of South Carolina’s Dawn Staley.
The 2007-08 USA Basketball Women’s National Team features a total of 29 athletes on its roster, which was selected by the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Committee. The final three members of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team will come from the USA National Team roster.
In addition to Brown, the USA Basketball Women’s Senior National Team Committee includes: athlete representatives Jennifer Azzi, a 1996 U.S. Olympic Team member, and Teresa Edwards, a five-time Olympian; New York Liberty Vice President and General Manager Carol Blazejowski, Minnesota Lynx Chief Operating Officer Roger Griffith, Indiana Fever Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Kelly Krauskopf and Los Angeles Sparks General Manager Penny Toler serve as the WNBA representatives on the Committee; while University of Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt is the NCAA representative.
USA Basketball is the national governing body responsible for men’s and women’s basketball in the United States and is responsible for representing the USA in international competitions.
2008 U.S. Women’s Olympic Team Roster
| NO | NAME | POS | HGT | WGT | DOB | WNBA TEAM | SCHOOL | HOMETOWN |
| 5 | Seimone Augustus | F | 6-1 | 179 | 04/30/84 | Minnesota Lynx | Louisiana State | Baton Rouge, LA |
| 6 | Sue Bird | G | 5-9 | 150 | 10/16/80 | Seattle Storm | Connecticut | Syosset, NY |
| 13 | Sylvia Fowles | C | 6-6 | 200 | 10/06/85 | Chicago Sky | Louisiana State | Miami, FL |
| 9 | Lisa Leslie | C | 6-5 | 170 | 07/07/72 | Los Angeles Sparks | Southern Cal | Hawthorne, CA |
| 15 | Candace Parker | F/C/G | 6-4 | 172 | 04/19/86 | Los Angeles Sparks | Tennessee | Naperville, IL |
| 4 | Cappie Pondexter | G | 5-9 | 160 | 01/07/83 | Phoenix Mercury | Rutgers | Chicago, IL |
| 14 | Katie Smith | G | 5-11 | 174 | 06/04/74 | Detroit Shock | Ohio State | Logan, OH |
| 12 | Diana Taurasi | G/F | 6-0 | 172 | 06/11/82 | Phoenix Mercury | Connecticut | Chino, CA |
| 11 | Tina Thompson | F | 6-2 | 178 | 02/10/75 | Houston Comets | Southern Cal | Los Angeles, CA |
Three players TBD
Head Coach: Anne Donovan
Assistant Coach: Gail Goestenkors, University of Texas
Assistant Coach: Dawn Staley, University of South Carolina
Assistant Coach: Mike Thibault, Connecticut Sun
2008 Olympic Games Women’s Basketball Schedule
Preliminary Round Pools| GROUP A | GROUP B |
| Australia | China |
| Russia | Mali |
| South Korea | New Zealand |
| Qualifier A | USA |
| Qualifier B | Qualifier D |
| Qualifier C | Qualifier E |
Qualifiers A, B, C, D and E will be determined through the 2008 Olympics women’s basketball competition which will be determined at the 2008 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women that is scheduled for June 9-15, in Madrid, Spain.
Preliminary Round:
Preliminary round game times are to be determined. Game times are 9:00 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 2:30 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 8:00 p.m. and 10:15 p.m.
Saturday, August 9
9:00 a.m. Qualifier C - Australia
11:15 a.m. Mali - New Zealand
2:30 p.m. Qualifier E - China
4:45 p.m. Qualifier a - South Korea
8:00 p.m. USA - Qualifier D
10:15 p.m. Russia - Qualifier B
Monday, August 11
9:00 a.m. New Zealand - Qualifier E
11:15 a.m. Qualifier D - Mali
2:30 p.m. South Korea - Russia
4:45 p.m. Qualifier B - Qualifier C
8:00 p.m. China - USA
10:15 p.m. Australia - Qualifier A
Wednesday, August 13
9:00 a.m. Qualifier C - Russia
11:45 a.m. Qualifier E - Qualifier D
2:30 p.m. Qualifier A - Qualifier B
4:45 p.m. New Zealand - China
8:00 p.m. Australia - South Korea
10:15 p.m. Mali – USA
Friday, August 15
9:00 a.m. Qualifier D - New Zealand
11:15 a.m. Qualifier B - Australia
2:30 p.m. Russia - Qualifier A
4:45 p.m. China - Mali
8:00 p.m. USA - Qualifier E
10:15 p.m. South Korea - Qualifier C
Sunday, August 17
9:00 a.m. Qualifier E - Mali
11:15 a.m. Australia - Russia
2:30 p.m. Qualifier B - South Korea
4:45 p.m. Qualifier A - Qualifier C
8:00 p.m. Qualifier D - China
10:15 p.m. New Zealand – USA
Quarterfinals
The game order and time for the four Quarterfinal games will be known by the evening of August 18. The quarterfinals game times are 2:30 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 8:00 p.m. and 10:15 p.m.
Tuesday, August 19
Time TBD Game 61: B2 - A3
Time TBD Game 62: A1 - B4
Time TBD Game 63: A2 - B3
Time TBD Game 64: B1 - A4
Semifinals
The exact game order and time for the two Semifinal games will be known by the evening of August 20. The semifinals game times are 8:00 p.m. and 10:15 p.m.
Thursday, August 21
Time TBD Winner 61 - Winner 62
Time TBD Winner 63 - Game 64
Finals
Saturday, August 23
7:30 p.m. Bronze Medal Game: Semifinals Losers
10:00 p.m. Gold Medal Game: Semifinals Winners
Beijing, China is +12 hours from EDT.
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