May 14, 2007
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame rising senior guard Charel Allen (Monessen, Pa./Monessen) has accepted an invitation to take part in the 2007 USA Basketball Women’s National Team Trials, scheduled for Thursday-Sunday at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo. The USA Basketball Women’s Collegiate Committee, chaired by NCAA vice president for Division I women’s basketball Sue Donohoe, issued the invitations for this weekend’s trials, which will be used to select finalists for both the USA Under-21 World Championship Team and the USA Pan American Games Team, with both squads slated to compete later this summer.
A total of 45 players ages 21-and-under (born on or after Jan. 1, 1986) have been invited to take part in the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Trials, with the ultimate goal of being part of the 12-member teams that will represent the United States at the U21 World Championship (June 29-July 8 in Moscow, Russia) and the Pan Am Games (July 20-24 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). The U21 World Championship Team will be coached by recently-appointed Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie, with Furman head coach Sam Dixon and Arizona State skipper Charli Turner Thorne serving on McCallie’s staff. Meanwhile, the Pan Am Games Team will be piloted by Temple head coach Dawn Staley, with Harvard boss Kathy Delaney-Smith and Holy Cross mentor Bill Gibbons appointed to be Staley’s assistants.
Allen is the third Notre Dame women’s basketball player in the past week to earn an invitation to attend USA Basketball trials in Colorado. On May 7, rising sophomore guards Ashley Barlow (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) and Melissa Lechlitner (Mishawaka, Ind./South Bend St. Joseph’s) affirmed their intentions to take part in the U.S. Junior National Team Trials, which will be held concurrently with the Women’s National Team Trials this weekend at the USOTC. All told, this will be the largest contingent of current Irish players to attend USA Basketball trials at the same time, and the most Notre Dame representatives (current players or alums) at the USA Trials since 1999, when four Irish cagers were on hand. That year, former All-Americans Beth Morgan (`97) and Katryna Gaither (`97) earned berths on the U.S. Pan Am Games Team, All-America center Ruth Riley (`01) was tapped for the USA World University Games Team, and recently-graduated sharpshooting guard Sheila McMillen (`99) joined Riley at the WUG Team Trials.
“I couldn’t be prouder of Charel for earning this tremendous opportunity,” Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said. “She’s worked very hard to position herself as one of the country’s top wing players and I know she’ll accept and embrace the challenge of going up against other great players. It’s a very exciting time for our program, with Charel, Ashley and Melissa all headed to this weekend’s USA Basketball trials, and I know their teammates, coaches and fans are pulling for each of them to earn a spot with Team USA this summer.”
Allen recently completed her finest season at Notre Dame, doubling her scoring output from last year up to a team-high 17.0 points per game (seventh in the conference), while also collecting a team-best 6.2 rebounds per contest. During BIG EAST play, Allen was especially sharp, ranking second in the loop in scoring (19.3 ppg.). She ended up scoring in double figures 29 times in 32 games this season (including each of her final 12 outings), and she topped the 20-point mark 11 times, including a career-high 31 points (on 14-of-19 shooting) against St. John’s on Jan. 16.
Not surprisingly, awards were plentiful for Allen this season. She was a Kodak/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) honorable mention All-America selection, the 13th Notre Dame player in the past 12 years to garner that distinction. She also was a first-team all-BIG EAST honoree, a two-time BIG EAST Player of the Week choice and a four-time BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll pick.
What’s more, the 5-foot-11 wing reached two milestones during the year. From Feb. 11-17, she scored 25-or-more points in three consecutive victories over DePaul (25 points), Villanova (25) and Providence (26), becoming the first Notre Dame player since Gaither in 1997 to pull off that feat. In addition, when she connected on a jumper in the lane during the second half of the regular-season finale at DePaul on Feb. 26, Allen became the 23rd 1,000-point scorer in the program’s history. She will enter her senior year with 1,053 career points, currently placing her 21st on the Irish all-time scoring list.
Megan Duffy is the most recent Notre Dame player to suit up for a USA Basketball national team, helping Team USA win the gold medal at the 2005 World University Games in Izmir, Turkey. (Kate Lakin/USA Basketball)
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Should any of the three Notre Dame players at this weekend’s USA Trials be selected for their respective teams (their rosters will be chosen prior to the start of their international competition), they would become the fifth Notre Dame women’s basketball player, and the third in four years, to compete for her country on the international level. Most recently, Megan Duffy earned a gold medal as a co-captain and starter for the 2005 USA World University Games Team, while Riley was a member of the 2004 U.S. Senior National Team that struck gold at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Riley also made prior USA Basketball appearances in 1998 (Select Team) and 1999 (World University Games Team), as did Gaither (two teams, two medals) and Morgan (four teams, three medals) from 1996-99. All told, Notre Dame players have earned nine medals in international competition, including four gold medals.
Allen, Barlow and Lechlitner follow in the footsteps of current teammate (and rising junior guard) Lindsay Schrader (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) as USA Basketball Trials participants. Schrader participated in last year’s USA Basketball U20 Women’s National Team Trials, making her second trip to Colorado Springs in three years (she was a finalist for the 2004 USA Women’s Junior World Championship Qualifying Team Trials, the precursor to what is now known as the U19 World Championship Team). In addition to Duffy’s gold-medal winning effort with the `05 World University Games squad, former All-American Jacqueline Batteast took part in the USA Trials in both 2002 and 2003, while Teresa Borton attended in 2002 and Courtney LaVere competed in 2003.
Allen is one of a strong contingent of 10 BIG EAST players slated to attend this weekend’s USA Women’s National Team Trials. Rutgers guards Matee Ajavon and Essence Carson, and forward Kia Vaughn, Connecticut forward Charde Houston and guard Mel Thomas, Marquette guard Krystal Ellis, Louisville forward Angel McCoughtry, Syracuse guard/forward Nicole Michael and DePaul guard Allie Quigley all will be in attendance at the USOTC in Colorado Springs (Thomas is eligible only for the Pan Am Games Team). No other conference in the nation has more participants in the trials, with the Atlantic Coast Conference next on the list (8), followed by the Southeastern Conference (6), Pac-10 (5), Big 12 (5) and Big Ten (4). The complete roster of invitees for the upcoming USA Women’s National Team Trials can be found on the official USA Basketball web site.
The U21 World Championship was held for the first time four years ago (2003), when it was known as the FIBA World Championship For Young Women, with the USA capturing the 2003 gold medal with a 7-1 record in Sibenik, Croatia. In the gold medal contest the U.S. avenged a 73-60 preliminary round loss to Brazil with a dominating 71-55 rout as tournament MVP Seimone Augustus paced the U.S. to the gold with 18 points. Augustus was joined on the five-member 2003 All-FIBA World Championship For Young Women Team by the USA’s Alana Beard and Christi Thomas. FIBA changed the names of its age-based World Championships in 2005 to reflect the age athletes must be to be eligible for the event.
McCallie returns as the USA’s head coach after piloting the 2006 USA U20 National Team to a gold medal at the FIBA Americas U20 Championship, which was held in Colorado Springs. For next month’s U21 World Championship, the United States was placed in Group B in the 12-nation tournament along with Australia, Brazil, Hungary, Japan and Spain. Group A includes Belgium, Canada, China, Mali, France and Russia.
Meanwhile, 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 Am Games basketball competition features only countries from FIBA Americas. During its 12 previous appearances at the event, the USA women have won six gold medals and rolled up a 67-12 record. Competing against national teams from the Americas, the 2003 USA Pan Am squad featured 12 collegians who banded together to come away with the silver medal.
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