From our friends at the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association:
ATLANTA – The nation’s top 20 high school senior girls’ basketball players have been selected to participate in the 2011 WBCA High School All-America Game presented by Nike, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced today.
The 20th annual All-America Game, which is held as part of the WBCA National Convention, will be played Saturday, April 2, 2011, at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., site of the 2011 NCAA® Women’s Final Four®. Tipoff is 4:30 p.m. ET. The game will be played on the NCAA Women’s Final Four court for the second straight year.
“Indiana, the Hoosier state, is synonymous with high school basketball; so, it’s only fitting that the WBCA showcase its High School All-America Team there,” said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. “What a great platform for this game to be held in Indianapolis.”
The 20 players will be divided into two teams of 10 players each for the game, which will be played according to NCAA rules. The game is free to the public; however, a special VIP ticket package that includes preferred seating, a “chalk talk” by an NCAA® Women’s Final Four® coach and a complimentary flipchart can be purchased for $15 from the WBCA by downloading and submitting the order form available at wbca.org. The deadline for advance ticket orders is March 14.
Here are the 20 players selected to participate in the 2011 WBCA High School All-America Game presented by Nike:
Name (School/ Hometown) Signed
Cierra Burdick (Butler HS/ Matthews, N.C.) Tennessee
Briyona Canty (Trenton Catholic Academy/ Willingboro, N.J.) Rutgers
Ariya Crook-Williams (L.B. Polytechnic HS/ Los Angeles, Calif.) Southern Cal
Krystal Forthan (Georgetown HS/ Georgetown, Texas) Louisiana State
Bria Goss (Ben Davis HS/ Indianapolis, Ind.) Kentucky
Taylor Greenfield (Ballard HS/ Huxley, Iowa) Stanford
Justine Hartman (Brea Olinda HS/ Fullerton, Calif.) UCLA
Amber Henson (Sickles HS/ Odessa, Fla.) Duke
Morgan Jones (Lake Mary HS/ Altamonte Springs, Fla.) Northwestern
Betnijah Laney (Smyrna HS/ Clayton, Del.) Undecided
Samantha Logic (Racine J.I. Case HS/ Racine, Wisc.) Iowa
Ariel Massengale (Bolingbrook HS/Bolingbrook, Ill.) Tennessee
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (Mater Dei HS/ Anaheim, Calif.) Connecticut
Eliza Normen (Monarch HS/ Louisville, Colo.) Arizona State
Amber Orrange (Westbury Christian HS/Missouri City, Texas) Stanford
Shakena Richardson (Neptune HS/ Neptune, N.J.) Rutgers
Bria Smith (Christ the King HS/ Massapequa, N.Y.) Virginia
Kiah Stokes (Linn-Mar HS/ Marion, Iowa) Connecticut
Alexyz Vaioletama (Mater Dei HS/ Fountain Valley, Calif.) Southern Cal
Elizabeth Williams (Princess Anne HS/ Virginia Beach, Va.) Duke
The inaugural WBCA High School All-America Game was played April 17, 1992, at Oman Arena in Jackson, Tenn. The 2011 class of WBCA High School All-Americans joins a long list of well-known past participants including Tamika Catchings, Chamique Holdsclaw, Katie Smith, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Alana Beard, Maya Moore and Brittney Griner.
“In continuing to elevate women’s basketball and the future growth of the game, we at Nike are proud to be the presenting sponsor of the 2011 WBCA High School All-America Game,” said Lauren Westendorf, Nike’s Women’s College Basketball Manager. “Each and every year, the country’s best young talent is put on display to showcase their abilities and to provide a preview into tomorrow’s great basketball stars. Nike recognizes the importance of providing opportunities for girls in sport and these 20 selected All-Americans are the future of women’s basketball.”
Any graduating senior can be nominated for the WBCA High School All-America Team by a high school or AAU coach who is an active WBCA member. College coaches are not eligible to nominate a player for consideration. The 20-player All-America team and a 20-player honorable mention are selected from the nominees by a selection committee composed of WBCA-member girls’ high school basketball coaches who represent nine geographical districts across the country.
“Congratulations to the members of the 2011 WBCA High School All-America Team on their selection,” said St. Louis (Mo.) Metro Academic & Classical High School head coach Gary Glasscock, who chairs the WBCA High School All-America Selection Committee. “This is just one of the first steps of many that each of these young ladies will take in their potentially highly successful basketball careers.”
Joining Glasscock on this year’s selection committee are Stacy Bilodeau, Walpole (Mass.) High School; Pat Diulus, Regina (Ohio) High School; Angie Hembree, Norcross (Ga.) High School; Gail Hook, Monarch (Colo.) High School; Bob Mackey, Christ the King (N.Y.) High School; Teri Morrison, Ralph H. Poteet (Texas) High School; Brian Robinson, Bishop McGuinness (N.C.) High School; Jeff Sink, Brea Olinda (Calif.) High School; and Brad Smith, Oregon City High School, who is past chair. WBCA Manager of Events, Awards & Office Administration Daniella Trujillo is staff liaison to the committee.
“I commend the members of the selection committee for their undying effort in canvassing the country to find the top girls high school basketball players,” said Glasscock “Such an incredible array of talent will be on display in this year’s game.”
Here are the 20 players receiving WBCA High School All-America honorable mention:
Name (School/ Hometown) Signed
Promise Amukamara (Apollo HS/ Glendale, Ariz.) Arizona State
Rachel Banham (Lakeville North HS/ Lakeville, Minn.) Minnesota
Brianna Banks (Fayette County HS/ Newnan, Ga.) Connecticut
Krystal Barrett (Skyline HS/ Dallas, Texas) N.C. State
Megan Buckland (Bishop McGuinness HS/ High Point, N.C.) North Carolina
Madison Cable (Mount Lebanon HS/ Pittsburgh, Penn.) Notre Dame
Syessence Davis (Neptune HS/ Neptune, N.J.) Rutgers
Nneka Enemkpali (Pflugerville HS/ Pflugerville, Texas) Texas
Temi Fagbenle (Blair Academy/ London, England) Harvard
Raven Ferguson (Columbus Africentric HS/ Columbus, Ohio) Ohio State
Reshanda Gray (Washington Preparatory HS/ Los Angeles, Calif.) California
Sarah Hammond (Rockcastle County HS/ Mount Vernon, Ken.) Louisville
Isabelle Harrison (Hillsboro HS/ Nashville, Tenn.) Tennessee
Rachel Mitchell (Atascocita HS/ Houston, Texas) Texas A&M
Hasina Muhammad (Ridgeway HS/ Memphis, Tenn.) Auburn
Brittany Roundtree (Potters House Christian/ Jacksonville, Fla.) North Carolina
Bonnie Samuelson (Edison HS/ Huntington Beach, Calif.) Stanford
Tori Scott (John Ehret HS/ Marrero, La.) Texas A&M
Alexia Standish (Colleyville Heritage HS/ Colleyville, Texas) Texas A&M
Kaylon Williams (Midwest City HS/ Midwest City, Okla.) Oklahoma
# # #
About Nike:
NIKE, Inc. based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world’s leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories; Cole Haan, which designs, markets and distributes luxury shoes, handbags, accessories and coats; Umbro Ltd., a leading United Kingdom-based global football (soccer) brand; and Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories. For more information, visit www.nikebiz.com.
About the WBCA: Founded in 1981, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association promotes women’s basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game as a sport for women and girls. For more information on the WBCA, please visit wbca.org.
