Sheryl Swoopes and Carla McGhee did not travel to China due to injury, however Valeria Whiting, a 6-3 forward, competed with the team. McClain led the USA charge, registering team highs of 17.1 ppg. Playing March 8-15 against China, Cuba and South Korea, the USA earned a win every day of the tournament and improved its overall mark to 36-0. The National Team hit the halfway point in its season with a grueling tournament in China that included eight games in as many days in three different cities. and McClain checked in as the USA's leading rebounder at 12.3 rpg. Ruthie Bolton finished as the USA's leading scorer versus Ukraine with 16.3 ppg. The National Team entered into overseas competition January 15-23 when it earned three victories over Club Uralmash in Ekaterininburg, Russia, and four wins over Ukraine in Kiev, while boosting its record to 26-0. Lisa Leslie led the United States' scoring campaign throughout the 21 games at 17.1 ppg., while Katrina McClain grabbed a team-best 7.9 rpg. The USA's victory over Texas Tech on February 3 marked the successful conclusion of the barnstorming NCAA Tour. Suffering from a pair of injuries during the tour, Dawn Staley was unable to compete after the fourth game and returned to action after the trip to Russia and Ukraine. The National Team itself used the tour to evolve into a cohesive unit, developing offenses and defenses. Winning by an average of 45.2 ppg., the National Team traveled to the campuses of the United States' top collegiate powers cruised past the overmatched college teams and enlightened fans by giving them a glimpse of women's hoops on the professional level. The National Team's three-month NCAA Tour proved to be an educational experience for the USA squad, its college opponents as well as the American public. With winning the Olympic gold the top priority, USA Basketball also adopted a secondary goal of elevating the popularity and visibility of women's basketball throughout the U.S.Īfter a seven day trial in Colorado Springs, the 11-member National Team was selected on May 25, 1995, and the following day departed for a series of scrimmages in Europe, then recessed for the summer.Ĭoached by Stanford's Tara VanDerveer, who took a year sabbatical, the team reassembled in Colorado Springs on October 2 for three weeks of training and on October 28 opened its 21-game tour with a victory over Athletes in Action. USA Basketball's strategy in developing the National Team was to take the United States' top Olympic prospects and have them play together as a cohesive unit for 10-months prior to Atlanta. Suffering from a gold medal drought after bronze medal finishes at the '92 Olympics and '94 World Championship, the USA had seen its dominance in the international game wane.ĭetermined to recapture the OIympic gold on its home soil in Atlanta, USA Basketball undertook a revolutionary approach to training its Olympic team by structuring a long-term National Team program comprised of 52 games, including 21 games versus top NCAA programs and Athletes in Action, tours of Russia, Ukraine, China, Australia and Canada, as well as a six-game domestic exhibition schedule. The tenure of the 1995-96 Women's National Team was truly a watershed period for the USA Basketball women's program.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |