Jayne Appel Added to USA Women's National Team Pool

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 18, 2010) -- Four international veterans were today added to the 2009-12 USA Basketball Women’s National Team, from which the 2010 USA World Championship and 2012 U.S. Olympic teams will be selected. Added to the USA National Team roster were Jayne Appel (San Antonio Silver Stars), Rebekkah Brunson (Minnesota Lynx), Ebony Hoffman (Indiana Fever) and Kia Vaughn (New York Liberty), all of whom have aided USA Basketball teams to gold medals during their careers. Player selections were made by the five-member USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee.

Selected members of the USA National Team will assemble on Sept. 4 in Washington, D.C., to tip-off its final training prior to departing for Europe to compete in the 2010 FIBA World Championship. While in the nation’s capital the team will practice daily Sept. 4-7 at 10:00 a.m. (all times EDT). On Sept. 4-5, the squad will train at The Flint School in Oakton, Va., and on Sept. 6-7 the USA will practice at American University’s Bender Arena in Washington, D.C.

“Certainly one of the positions that we are trying to shore up is in the post,” said 2009-12 USA Basketball Women’s National Team and University of Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma. “With Candace Parker not being available because of her operation, these four additions give us a lot of options to choose from. I’m anxious to see how they fit in. And depending on who’s available because of the playoffs, I think it’s important to have as many options as possible.

The 12-member 2010 USA World Championship Team will be selected from the 24-member USA National Team pool. The make-up of the USA National Team during its exhibition contests will be partly dependent upon who is competing in the WNBA playoffs and the official 12-woman USA roster that will compete in the 2010 FIBA World Championship must be submitted to FIBA at the technical meeting that normally is held the day prior to the start of the competition.

The 20 previously announced members of the 2009-12 USA Basketball Women’s National Team are: Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx), Alana Beard (Washington Mystics), Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Swin Cash (Seattle Storm), Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever), Tina Charles (Connecticut Sun), Shameka Christon (Chicago Sky), Candice Dupree (Phoenix Mercury), Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky), Lindsey Harding (Washington Mystics), Asjha Jones (Connecticut Sun), Kara Lawson (Connecticut Sun), Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream), Renee Montgomery (Connecticut Sun), Maya Moore (University of Connecticut), Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks), Cappie Pondexter (New York Liberty), Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury), Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota Lynx) and Candice Wiggins (Minnesota Lynx).

The USA Basketball Women's National Team Player Selection Committee is comprised of WNBA representatives Renee Brown, Chief of Basketball Operations and Player Relations; Dan Hughes, General Manager of the San Antonio Silver Stars; and Chief Operating Officer/General Manager of the Indiana Fever Kelly Krauskopf; athlete representative and five-time Olympian Teresa Edwards; and USA Basketball Women's National Team Director Carol Callan.