USA – American women's squad for 2010-2012 now numbers 20

COLORADO SPRINGS (2010 FIBA World Championship for Women) – USA coach Geno Auriemma now has 20 players to choose from for the FIBA World Championship for Women following the addition of 12 stars to the national squad for 2010-12.

Each of the newcomers has experience with USA Basketball.

They include Alana Beard, Swin Cash, Tina Charles, Shameka Christon, Candice Dupree, Lindsey Harding, Asjha Jones, Angel McCoughtry, Renee Montgomery, Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen and Candice Wiggins.

“I’m excited because it’s a great mixture of veterans, young players, players who are versatile enough to give us an awful lot of options as to how we want to play,” Auriemma said.

“Certainly we take into consideration winning and all of these players are winners. They’ve been on winning programs all their lives.

“I’m anxious to get to work with them and anxious to mix them in with the group that was announced earlier.

“I’m thrilled with the make-up of the group. We have the best players in the world and this is just another example of how deep the pool is that the U.S. can draw from.”

The player selections were made by the five-member USA Basketball women’s national team player selection committee.

The 2008 Olympic gold medalists Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings, Diana Taurasi, Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles, Kara Lawson, Candace Parker and Cappie Pondexter had already been named in the squad.

In the Preliminary Round at the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women, the USA will compete in Group B in Ostrava against France, Greece and Senegal.

The Americans will go into the 16-team event as Olympic champions, and looking to make up for their Semi-Final defeat to Russia in 2006.

That USA team beat Brazil in the bronze-medal game.

FIBA