USA - Davenport, Smith on national team
Ohio State senior center Jessica Davenport joined former Buckeyes star Katie Smith and 19 other players yesterday as members of the 2007-08 USA Women’s Senior National Basketball Team
From www.columbusdispatch.com
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Ohio State senior center Jessica Davenport joined former Buckeyes star Katie Smith and 19 other players yesterday as members of the 2007-08 USA Women’s Senior National Basketball Team.
The team will compete for a qualifying spot for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Team USA will play its first games in September at the FIBA Americas Championships in Valdivia, Chile. The U.S. players for the Olympics will be chosen from the 2007-08 roster.
Davenport, 21, led the Buckeyes to their third consecutive Big Ten regular-season championship and is the first threetime conference player of the year. She was a member of the gold-medal winning World University Games team in 2005 and helped the senior national team train for the world championships last summer.
"It’s pretty exciting, being able to play among the greatest players in the world," Davenport said. "Playing against those players brings another level of play in you. I try to play as hard as I can with anybody and I think I’m pretty easy to play with."
Smith, a member of the defending WNBA champion Detroit Shock, is a two-time Olympic gold medalist.
Other Team USA players are Sheryl Swoopes, Seimone Augustus, Alana Beard, Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Tamika Catchings, Katie Douglas, Cheryl Ford, Sylvia Fowles, Taj McWilliams-Franklin, DeLisha Milton-Jones, Deanna Nolan, Courtney Paris, Candace Parker, Cappie Pondexter, Michelle Snow, Diana Taurasi, Tina Thompson and Lindsay Whalen.