USA - USA Draws Group D for 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship for women

COLORADO SPRINGS (FIBA U19 World Championship Women) - FIBA on Feb. 26 conducted the draw for the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship for Women in Bangkok, Thailand, host of this year's U19 Worlds, and the USA has been placed in Group D, along with China, Mali and Spain. Sixteen countries will compete in the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship that will be held July 23-Aug. 2.

The 12 remaining 19-and-under national teams were distributed as such: Group A includes Argentina, Australia, France and South Korea; Group B consists of Brazil, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Thailand; and Group C consists of Canada, Japan, Russia and Tunisia.

Trials for the USA Women's U19 National Team will be held May 14-17 at the United States Olympic Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., with approximately 30-35 of the nation's top 19-and-unders, born on or after Jan. 1, 1990, competing for a roster spot.

The 2009 coaching staff and invitees for the USA U19 National Team Trials will be made at a later date.

Led by Northern Illinois University head coach Carol Owens, the 2008 U.S. squad secured its berth to the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship with a gold medal finish in its zone qualifier, the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship, held July 23-27 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

With all game times still to be determined, the U.S. squad's preliminary round slate opens with a July 23 contest against Spain, followed by China on July 24 and Mali on July 25. The top three teams from each preliminary group will qualify for the preliminary second round, while the fourth place teams will qualify for the classification round to determine 13th to 16th places.

After a day of rest on July 29, the twelve teams qualified for the second round, which will be played July 27-29, will be divided into groups E and F, with six teams in each group. The top three preliminary round teams from groups A and B will advance to Group E, and the top three from C and D will advance to Group F. Each team will play the three new teams in its new group, with the final scores of all games played in the preliminary round carrying over to determine the second round standings.

Teams finishing in first through fourth places in the second round will qualify for the quarterfinals, with the opportunity to advance to the semifinals and finals. Teams finishing in fifth and sixth places in Groups E and F will play for ninth through 12th places. The quarterfinals will be held on July 31, semifinals are slated for Aug. 1 and the gold medal game will be contested on Aug. 2.

USA Basketball