COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Feb. 22, 2018) – Hosted by the Seattle Storm, the USA Basketball Women’s National Team, in continuing preparations for the 2018 FIBA World Cup of Basketball, will conduct a three-day spring training camp in Seattle that will culminate with an April 26 exhibition game at KeyArena against an international opponent to be announced at a later date.
Tickets for the game, which will tip-off at 7 p.m. (all times listed are PDT), go on sale to Seattle Storm season ticket holders today at 2 p.m. and will be available to the general public at StormBasketball.com beginning March 20 at 10 a.m.
Prior to its April 26 game, the USA will train for approximately two hours each day, beginning at 10 a.m., April 24-25 at a site to be determined. The training camp roster will be comprised of members of the USA National Team, and will be announced at a later date.
“It will be great for us to get a chance to train a little bit, and at the end of that training it would be good to get a chance to play against an international opponent and see what we’re about,” said Dawn Staley, USA Basketball Women’s National Team and University of South Carolina head coach. “So, I’m excited for our players, excited to have another training camp and excited to get some competition under our belt. I also want to thank the Storm, who have some great fans, for hosting us at KeyArena. It will be an exciting atmosphere for our exhibition game.”
“Seattle continues to be a premier destination for marquee sporting events and we could not be more excited to welcome the USA Basketball Women’s National Team to the Pacific Northwest,” said Alisha Valavanis, Seattle Storm president and general manager. “It is a special opportunity to see USA Basketball compete in advance of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup later this year and we’re eager to bring Storm fans and Seattle sports fans together to enjoy world-class basketball.”
The Seattle training camp will mark the third in the USA’s preparations for the 2018 FIBA World Cup, which will be held Sept. 22-30 in Tenerife, Spain. Members of the national team first gathered Sept. 30-Oct. 2 in Santa Barbara, California, and recently concluded a Feb. 9-11 camp at the University of South Carolina.
Winners of back-to-back World Cup titles and four of the past five FIBA World Cups, the USA owns a record nine gold medals, one silver medal and two bronze medals in FIBA World Cup play, while compiling an all-time 103-21 record at the event. In 2014, the most recent World Cup, the U.S. took the gold medal, while Spain captured silver and Australia won bronze.
The USA will compete in preliminary round Group D and will play Senegal on Sept. 22, China on Sept. 23 and Latvia on Sept. 25.
Group A includes Canada, France, Greece and South Korea; Group B is comprised of Argentina, Australia, Nigeria and Turkey; while Group C features Belgium, Japan, Puerto Rico and Spain.
Following the preliminary round, teams will be seeded, and the top team from each group will earn an automatic berth to the quarterfinals, while the No. 2 and No. 3 teams from each group will advance to the Sept. 26 quarterfinals play-in round. From there, winners will compete in the Sept. 28-30 medal round.
The 2018-20 USA Basketball Women’s National Team pool currently includes 28 athletes: Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx); Sue Bird (Seattle Storm); Tina Charles (New York Liberty); Layshia Clarendon (Atlanta Dream); Napheesa Collier (University of Connecticut); Elena Delle Donne (Washington Mystics); Skylar Diggins-Smith (Dallas Wings); Stefanie Dolson (Chicago Sky); Asia Durr (University of Louisville); Sylvia Fowles (Minnesota Lynx); Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury); Tiffany Hayes (Atlanta Dream); Jantel Lavender (Los Angeles Sparks); Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm); Kayla McBride (Las Vegas Aces); Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream); Kelsey Mitchell (Ohio State University); Maya Moore (Minnesota Lynx); Chiney Ogwumike (Connecticut Sun); Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles Sparks); Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas Aces); Katie Lou Samuelson (University of Connecticut); Odyssey Sims (Los Angeles Sparks); Breanna Stewart (Seattle Storm); Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury); Morgan Tuck (Connecticut Sun); Courtney Williams (Connecticut Sun); and A’ja Wilson (University of South Carolina).
As was the case over the past three quadrenniums, the 2017-20 USA National Team roster will be fluid. It is expected that the official, 12-member 2018 USA World Cup and 2020 U.S. Olympic teams, should the USA qualify to compete in Tokyo, will be comprised of players from the 2018-20 USA National Team.
USA Basketball Women’s National Team
Members of the USA Basketball Women’s National Team will compete in the 2018 FIBA World Cup and, if the USA qualifies, the 2020 Summer Olympic Games (July 24-Aug. 9 in Tokyo), as well as additional USA training camps and exhibition games.
The U.S. and Staley first will look to capture the title at the 2018 FIBA Women’s World Cup of Basketball, with an automatic berth to the 2020 Olympic Games being awarded to the gold medalist. Should the U.S. not finish with the gold medal in 2018, it would have two additional opportunities to qualify for the Olympics: the 2019 FIBA AmeriCup (dates and site TBD) and the 2020 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament (dates and site TBD).
About USA Basketball
Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and chaired by retired Gen. Martin Dempsey, USA Basketball is a nonprofit organization and the national governing body for basketball in the United States. As the recognized governing body for basketball in the U.S. by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), USA Basketball is responsible for the selection, training and fielding of USA national teams that compete in FIBA-sponsored five-on-five and 3×3 international competitions, as well as for some national competitions and for the development of youth basketball.
The USA Basketball Youth Development division is tasked with the development of youth basketball initiatives that address player development, coach education and safety, while promoting, growing, and elevating the game. USA Basketball is committed to providing youth throughout the country safe, fun and developmentally appropriate environments in which they can enjoy the game. Current USA Basketball youth initiatives include coach licensing and education; organization accreditation; coach academies; regional camps; youth clinics; open court programs; Women in the Game conferences; and the U.S. Open Basketball Championships.