CAN - Canada women to hold try-outs for U19 Worlds

TORONTO (2011 FIBA U19 World Championship for Women) - Canada's Junior Women’s National Team (JWNT) programme will begin preparations for the 2011 U19 FIBA World Championship for Women by holding a try-out by invitation camp in July.

Canada Basketball revealed the 22 athletes invited to attend the camp at Georgian College in Barrie, Ontario from 5 to 12 July.

The FIBA U19 World Championship for Women takes place in Puerto Montt and Puerto Varas, Chile, between 21 and 31 July.

Canada has been drawn in Group A of and will take on China, Egypt and Italy in the Preliminary Round.

The Canadians are coming off their best result in the tournament, having finished fourth in 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand after losing to Argentina in the bronze medal game 58-51.

The 22 athletes consists of talent from coast to coast with no shortage of international experience.

Of the 22 players, 15 of them were a member of the Cadette Women’s National Team (CWNT) or JWNT last summer.

Attending camp to earn a spot on the JWNT roster are 2010 NCAA freshman standouts and 2010 Junior National Team members Michelle Plouffe, Katherine Plouffe and Wumi Agunbiade.

Michelle Plouffe njoyed her first year playing at the University of Utah, being named the Mountain West Conference’s Freshman of the Year. She is currently with the Senior Women’s Nation Team training in Europe.

Her twin sister, Katherine, was named to the BIG EAST’s All-Freshman team at Marquette University.

Duquesne University’s Agunbiade was the best freshman in the Atlantic-10 Conference, winning the Rookie of Year award.

Nirra Fields (Lachine, QC), who played last summer for the CWNT at the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship for Women in France, will also join the group.

She led the tournament in scoring with 22.4 points per game, marking the first time a Canadian female has led a FIBA World Championship event in scoring.

Canada U19 Women squad for try-out by invitation camp (5-12 July): Wumi Agunbiade, Sophie Beaudry, Cassandra Brown, Taijah Campbell, Paige Crozon, Shalie Dheenshaw, Nirra Fields, Sami Hill, Alex Kiss-Rusk, Kiran Lakhian, Diana Lee, Megan Lukan, Katherine Plouffe, Michelle Plouffe, Isidora Purkovic, Kellie Ring, Alisha Roberts, Karly Roser, Jenalle Vanhie, Dakota Whyte, Korissa Williams, Kristjana Young.

FIBA