MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee's Amber Holt has been selected as a finalist for the USA Basketball Pan American Games Team after participating in a tryout camp over the weekend in Colorado Springs, Colo. Holt is one of 15 finalists, but only 12 players will make the trip to the 2007 Pan Am Games, July 20-24 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The selections were made by the USA Basketball Women's Collegiate Committee, which is chaired by Sue Donohoe, the NCAA's vice president of Division I women's basketball. The USA National Team Trials featured 45 athletes vying for a coveted roster spot over the weekend in Colorado Springs.
The USA Pan Ams finalists will reconvene on July 6 in Washington, D.C., and the eventual 12-member squad will be named prior to the team departing for Brazil on July 16.
"I thought I did pretty well during the four days and I guess other people thought the same thing," Holt said. "I played the 4 a lot and a little bit of the 3 during the scrimmages. I was comfortable because I knew so many of the players from games this season or in AAU. It was a great experience and I hope I can continue to play well and make the final roster."
The Pan American Games women's basketball tournament will be held July 20-24 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and will feature eight national teams from FIBA Americas. The U.S., placed in Group B, opens preliminary play against Columbia on July 20. Facing Argentina on July 21, the USA will close the preliminary round with a contest against defending Pan American Games gold medalists Cuba on July 22. Semifinals are slated for July 23 and the gold medal will be contested July 24. Also competing in the 2007 Pan Ams women's basketball tournament are Group A nations Brazil, Canada, Jamaica and Mexico.
The 14 athletes still in contention for a spot on the final 12-member USA Pan Am Games Team include: Jessica Adair (George Washington Univ./Washington, D.C.)
Matee Ajavon (Rutgers/Newark, N.J.)
Nicky Anosike (Tennessee/Staten Island, N.Y.)
Jayne Appel (Stanford/Pleasant Hill, Calif.)
Marissa Coleman (Maryland/Cheltenham, Md.)
Krystal Ellis (Marquette/Racine, Wis.)
Emily Fox (Minnesota/Highlands Ranch, Colo.)
Amber Holt (Middle Tennessee/Duluth, Ga.)
Alexis Hornbuckle (Tennessee/Charleston, W.Va.)
Chardé Houston (Connecticut/San Diego, Calif.)
Tasha Humphrey (Georgia/Gainesville, Ga.)
Erlana Larkins (North Carolina/Riviera Beach, Fla.)
Angel McCoughtry (Louisville/Baltimore, Md.)
Mel Thomas (Connecticut/Cincinnati, Ohio)
Candice Wiggins (Stanford/San Diego, Calif.)
Pan American Games
The Pan American Games, held every four years in the year prior to the Olympics and organized by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO), is a multi-sport competition open to men and women representing countries from North, South and Central America and the Caribbean.
This summer the Pan American Games will be held July 13-30, with the women's basketball competition slated for July 20-24, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Started in 1951 for men and 1955 for women, the Pan American Games are held every four years in the year preceding the Olympics. Only countries from FIBA Americas are eligible to compete. The USA women have won six of 12 gold medals and rolled up a 67-12 record. Competing against national teams from the Americas, the 2003 USA Pan Ams squad featured 12 collegians who banded together to come away with the silver medal.
USA Basketball Women's Collegiate Committee
In addition to Donohoe, members of the USA Basketball Women's Collegiate Committee include: athlete representatives Beth Cunningham (Virginia Commonwealth University), a member of the 1999 USA Pan American Games Team, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist Carla McGhee (WNBA Director of Player Personnel); from the NAIA is Martha Gore-Algernon (University of Mobile); NCAA appointees include Sherri Coale (University of Oklahoma), Jim Foster (Ohio State University), Trina Patterson (University at Albany) and Tara VanDerveer (Stanford University); Mary "Roonie" Scovel (Gulf Coast Community College) represents the NJCAA; and Wendy Larry (Old Dominion University) was appointed to the Committee by the WBCA.