BOOGIE GAINS EXPERIENCE WITH USA BASKETBALL TEAM THIS SUMMER

Via Michael Lambart (LSU Reveille):


The trophy room in LSU sophomore forward LaSondra Barrett’s Jackson, Miss., house is getting crowded.

Barrett won two-straight Class 5A state championships for William B. Murrah High School, and she was a McDonald’s and EA Sports All-American in 2008. The 6-foot-2-inch forward, nicknamed “Boogie,” made an instant impact for the LSU women’s basketball team her freshman season, finishing second on the team in scoring and claiming 2009 SEC Co-Freshman of the Year honors.

But the trophy room may need to be cleared for Barrett’s most prestigious award to date — a gold medal. Barrett made her mark internationally on USA Basketball Women’s U19 Team last summer, claiming the championship after beating Spain, 87-71, in Bangkok, Thailand.


“The experience was great,” Barrett said. “You are even more hungry to win since you are representing the United States. Winning a gold medal was the icing on the cake.”

The United States fell to Spain in its first game of the preliminary round but gained revenge in the title match.


“Spain beating us was a wake-up call,” Barrett said. “Our backs were against the wall. It was just about bouncing back and playing with our heart.”

The United States went on to beat China, Mali, Canada, Japan, Russia and France en route to the title.“Everyone wanted to beat the USA because we were the best,” Barrett said. “We peaked at about the right time.”

Barrett had a breakout game and scored her tournament-high 14 points to help the Unites States defeat Japan.

“I wasn’t much of a scorer — it was more defense and rebounding,” Barrett said. “Being a leader, being vocal — that was my role.”Barrett said she enjoyed the experience of playing for her country.

Read the entire article: http://bit.ly/405fqA

Filed under  //  Team USA  
Posted by Bill Martin  

Big Syl Helps Team USA to Title

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Sylvia Fowles grabbed a team high 12 rebounds and dominated on the defensive end to lead the USA Women’s National Team (3-0) as they handed host UMMC Ekaterinburg (2-1) a 78-63 defeat on its home court to win its third game in as many days and claim the Ekaterinburg International Invitational championship Sunday evening.

Geno Auriemma about Sylvia Fowley’s rebound and defense?

"Sylvia’s capable of having an impact in the game every time down the floor at both ends of the floor. That’s the biggest team we’ve played since we’ve come together and we needed every one of Sylvia’s rebounds and we needed her to do exactly what she did to today. I hope she builds on this because this was great performance by her."

Q & A WITH BIG SYL ABOUT THE WIN

The team got off to a good start and you were really rebounding in the game.
"We got off to good start but my rebounding had a lot to do with coach challenging me. Yesterday I played like six minutes and didn’t get a rebound so he didn’t play me in the second half so it was a challenge to go out there and do well for my team. But at the same time everybody was on the same page and we wanted to get it done from the get go."

What about the 17-0 run that finished off the second quarter?
"That was a good feeling only because the United States always gets dished that it can’t get it done and everything doesn’t always work in our favor. But just for us to be on the same page and for us to utilize our abilities to do what we can do, I enjoyed every moment on it."

The U.S. was short on post players today with Candace being injured and Asjha being required to play for Ekaterinburg. Were you concerned about that and can you talk about playing their bigs, was it a physical contest?
"It was bo
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th physical and mentally tough too because they try to out think you. For us not having all of our post players was kind of a concern, but at the same time coach already had installed in our minds that it wasn’t a concern or a worry, that if we went out and got it done then we wouldn’t have to worry about our lack of post players."

Were you focusing today on just rebounding?
"Yes I was focusing today on rebounding. If shots would have gone up and we would have made it, then that would have been a plus, but my main focus was to crash the boards every time hard and get boards for my team; and play defense as well."

How rewarding was it to come away with the championship after 10 days of training?
"It’s good, it says a lot about our coaching staff and also our players and for everyone to suck up their role and not BS about their minutes or anything like that. We just came together and we wanted to get it done and doing it in 10 days says a lot about trying to come together as a team."
 

Filed under  //  Sylvia Fowles   Team USA  
Posted by Bill Martin  

BIG SYL LEADS USA WITH 14 POINTS AND 7 REBOUNDS

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In only 18 minutes of play, Sylvia Fowles tallied 14 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and picked off 3 steals to lead Team USA to 100-81 victory over Czech professional team ZVVC UKA Prague in Ekaterinburg International Invitational in Russia.


Here are some quotes from Syl:

How did you feel out there in your first game?
"I felt pretty good individually and then as a team I think we did a good job. Just to get out there with those girls and to do what we did, in our first time playing together, I was a little excited but we still have a lot to work on."

In the USA’s post players all together, there seems to be a lot of different combinations, a lot of different strengths.
"That’s a secret weapon for our team. We do have a lot of bigs and each of us does different things. To have a big out on the wing like Candace Parker and Candace Dupree, and Asja (Jones) and Swin (Cash), you can switch them up and I love that we have combinations and teams have to be prepared for whatever we give them."

Did it take an adjustment to get back in the swing of international basketball?
"I kind of went with the flow. I would say that in the first five minutes it was kind of different, they kept calling the traveling calls so I had to think about ‘I’m back overseas so you have to watch your feet a little bit and watch what you do.’"

It seemed like you were getting the ball in great inside position.
"I felt like I was getting the ball where I wanted but I felt like I was missing too many chippies and that comes with just being patient and taking your time and reading the defense. But it’s like I said, this was our first game and I’ll be better prepared for the next one. "


The U.S. continues the round-robin tournament against Euroleasing Sopron on Saturday and caps the tournament against host and 2009 EuoLeague third place finisher UMMC Ekaterinburg on Sunday.

Click here for box score and more info:

Filed under  //  Sylvia Fowles   Team USA  
Posted by Bill Martin  

Sylvia and Seimone Visit Walter Reed Hospital

SYLVIA FOWLES (10-1-09):

"I enjoyed myself for the most part. It was very eye-opening just to see these people from the war who were banged up and injured, but still had the right mindset about life. I’m happy we paid a visit to them because they really look forward to these (types of) visits. They tell us how we lighten their day, so I’m happy I was able to help someone smile today."

 
Comments from Big Syl who joined Seimone and visited

 
Following today’s (10-1-09) practice, the USA Basketball Women’s National Team had an opportunity to visit with some of the wounded soldiers recovering at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. After a briefing from a member of the United Service Organizations, better known as the USO, the team broke up into small groups of 4-5 and visited troops in their hospital rooms.

Filed under  //  Community   Player's Post   Seimone Augustus   Sylvia Fowles   Team USA  
Posted by Bill Martin  

SEIMONE GAINS INSPIRATION FROM WOUNDED

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The following comes from an article written by Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press:


Seimone Augustus hasn’t been able to play at the U.S. women’s basketball training camp while she rehabilitates her injured left knee.

She’s been cheering from the sideline and working on her rehab, but misses being on the court with her teammates. Still, the camp hasn’t been a total loss for the Minnesota Lynx guard.
A post practice trip by the national team to Walter Reed hospital to visit wounded soldiers really helped put her ACL injury in perspective.

“Going through my rehab and stuff like that, I’ve been feeling down on myself and depressed and I shouldn’t,” Augustus said. “They’ve been through worse things than me and they’re calm.”

There was one soldier whom she met who was fortunate to be alive. He had an injured spine and neck and was wounded when a bomb went off underneath his vehicle. Right as the bomb went off, the soldier remembered to push away from his gun so as not to be further hurt. He told her how many soldiers are hurt worse when they bang their heads into their guns after a bomb goes off.

Some of his fellow soldiers in the vehicle weren’t so lucky.

“Just to know this guy was almost killed and he’s here talking to us and happy to see us is a special thing,” Augustus said. “These guys go out and risk their lives every day and not know if they’re going to come back home alive or not. To hear about their experiences is a motivational factor for me.”

Read the entire article: http://bit.ly/CaqIj

Filed under  //  Community   Seimone Augustus   Team USA  
Posted by Bill Martin