OU's Caufield and Hill Invited to USA Basketball Trials

May 3, 2001

Colorado Springs, Colo. - - The University of Oklahoma and Ada High School graduates LaNeishea Caufield (Ada, Okla.) and Caton Hill (Ada, Okla.) are two of the top 36 women's collegiate basketball players in the nation who have been invited to attend the 2001 USA Baseketball Women's National Team Trials as announced by the USA Basketball Women's Collegiate Committee today. Among those 36 athletes are 13 All-Americans and seven players from the Big 12 Conference.

Caufield and Hill were two of OU's top scores who started all 34 games this season. They led OU to a 28-6 record, a No. 7 national ranking and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. This Sooner team also recorded a school record in wins (28), a Big 12 and school record in consecutive wins (17), a school record in consecutive road wins (10) and a perfect Big 12 road record (8-0). Oklahoma also took its second consecutive trip to the NCAA Sweet 16, a first for the OU program.

Caufield, the 2001 Women's Basketball News Service Defensive Player of the Year, averaged 15.8 points and a team-high and second-best in the nation 4.0 steals per game. The 5-9 guard also repeated her second team All-Big 12 honors enroute to being tabbed as a Defensive All-American by the Women's Basketball Journal and first team All-American by Real Sports Magazine. Caufield also averaged 4.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and shot 83.9 percent from the free throw line. This will be Caufield's third USA Basketball Trail as she participated in the 1999 World University Games and 2000 Jones Cup trails.

Hill led OU with 9.3 rebounds and ranked third in scoring with 13.0 points per game. She also ranked among the Big 12 best in six statistical categories including rebounding, scoring, field goal (.561) and free throw percentages (.814). The 6-1 power forward had an amazing NCAA Tournament this season as she posted 17.7 points and 12.0 rebounds per game earning her NCAA All-West Regional honors. The second team All-Big 12 selection ended the NCAA Tournament ranked among the elite in five categories including first in total rebounds (12.0) and defensive boards (7.00) per game. She also ranked second in offensive rebounds (5.00), 10th in field goal percentage (56.1%) and 11th in scoring (17.7 ppg).

The USA Basketball Committee will select finalists for the 12-member 2001 USA Women's World University Games Team following the four-day Trials which will be held May 18-21 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The 2001 USA Basketball Women's National Team Trials will begin Friday, May 18 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. (all times MST). Sessions will follow from 9:00-11:30 a.m. and 5:00-7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 19, from 9:00-11:30 a.m. and 4:30-7:00 p.m on Sunday, May 20, and the Trials will conclude on Monday, May 21 with a session from 8:00-10:00 a.m.

Included among the invitees are: Chantelle Anderson (Vanderbilt /Vancouver, Wash.), Kerensa Barr (Missouri / West Plains, Mo.), Coretta Brown (North Carolina / Statesboro, Ga.), Niesha Butler (Georgia Tech / New York, N.Y.), LaNeishea Caufield (Oklahoma / Ada, Okla.), Courtney Coleman (Ohio State / Cincinnati, Ohio), Danielle Crockrom (Baylor / Houston, Texas), Cori Enghusen (Stanford / Bothell, Wash.), Chrissy Floyd (Clemson /Laurens, S.C.), Catrina Frierson (Louisiana Tech / Vicksburg, Miss.), Andrea Gardner (Howard / Washington, D.C.), Teresa Geter (South Carolina /Columbia, S.C.), Michelle Greco (UCLA / LaCrescenta, Calif.), Caton Hill (Oklahoma / Ada, Okla.), Andrea Lalum (Washington / Bozeman, Mont.), Shelia Lambert (Baylor / Seattle, Wash.), Kara Lawson (Tennessee / Alexandria, Va.), Ashley McElhiney (Vanderbilt / Gleason, Tenn.), Lindsey Meder (Iowa /Solon, Iowa), Carisse Moody (North Carolina State / Rocky Mount, N.C.), Tamara Moore (Wisconsin / Minneapolis, Minn.), Mandy Nightingale (Colorado/ Sapulpa, Okla.), Kim Ortega (Seward County C.C. / Logandale, Nev.), Loree Payne (Washington / Havre, Mont.), Natalie Powers (Western Kentucky / Owensboro, Ky.), Telisha Quarles (Virginia / Louisa, Va.), Felicia Ragland (Oregon State / Tulare, Calif.), Jenny Roulier (Colorado / Englewood, Colo.), Aiysha Smith (Tyler J.C. / Detroit, Mich.), Jessie Stomski (Wisconsin / Oakdale, Minn.), April Traylor (Florida State / Martinsville, Ind.), Ayana Walker (Louisiana Tech / Houston, Texas), Deedee Warley (Maryland / Ft. Washington, Md.), Shaquala Williams (Oregon / Portland, Ore.), Shereka Wright (Purdue / Copperas Cove, Texas), and Lindsey Yamasaki (Stanford / Oregon City, Ore.).

Of the 36 athletes who have accepted invitations to the 2001 Trials, 12 have been involved with USA Basketball in the past, 19 recently completed their junior seasons at the NCAA Division I level, 13 were NCAA sophomores in 2000-01, two were freshmen this past season and two hail from the NJCAA Division I level. In addition to the 13 All-Americans on the list, three earned 2001 NCAA Tournament all-regional honors and 27 collected 2001 all-conference accolades.

Highlighting the All-American list is Anderson, an Associated Press and Women's Basketball Journal 2001 All-America second team selection, who was also named a 2001 Kodak/Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-America honorable mention. Earning 2001 AP All-America honorable mention were Crockrom, Lawson, Moody, Moore, Ragland and Walker, while Floyd, Lambert, Ragland, Walker and Stomski were all tabbed Kodak/WBCA All-America honorable mentions. Selected to the Women's Basketball Journal All-America third and fourth team were Lambert and Crockrom, respectively, while Caufield and Moore were each named to the 2001 Women's Basketball Journal Defensive All-America first team. Additionally, Ortega and Smith were honored by the NJCAA as 2001 NJCAA All-America first team selections.

Among all-conference honorees are Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Year Gardner, Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year Ragland, Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year Lambert, and conference Defensive Players of the Year Moore (Big 10 Conference) and Walker (Sun Belt Conference). In addition to garnering these awards, all five were named to their respective all-conference first teams, as were Anderson (Southeastern Conference [SEC]), Crockrom (Big 12), Greco (Pac-10), Lawson (SEC), Meder (Big 10), Powers (Sun Belt) and Stomski (Big 10). Listed among their respective all-conference second teams were Brown (Atlantic Coast Conference [ACC]), Caufield (Big 12), Coleman (Big 10), Floyd (ACC), Geter (SEC) Hill (Big 12) and Moody (ACC), while Butler (ACC), Nightingale (Big 12), Roulier (Big 12), Traylor (ACC) and Warley (ACC) collected all-conference third team honors and Yamasaki was named All-Pac-10 honorable mention. The two freshmen also secured all-conference awards as Lalum was named All-Pac-10 honorable mention and Wright was named to the Big 10 All-Freshman Team.

All told, there are 26 NCAA schools represented, with eight ringing in with two athletes apiece (Baylor, Colorado, Louisiana Tech, Oklahoma, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Washington and Wisconsin), and seven conferences, with the ACC, Big 12 and Pac-10 leading the way with seven athletes represented apiece. Additionally, two junior colleges are represented among the 36 athletes invited to the 2001 USA Basketball Women's National Team Trials.

University of Virginia head coach Debbie Ryan will serve as head coach of the 2001 U.S. squad and she will be assisted by University of Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder and East Carolina University (N.C.) head coach Dee Stokes. The final 12-member team will be named during the August 6-14 training camp which will be held at the USOTC.

The World University Games, held every two years and organized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU), is a multi-sport competition open to men and women between the ages of 17 and 28 (born between January 1, 1973 and December 31, 1983), who are, or have been within the past year, a student at a college or university. This summer the World University Games will be held Aug. 22 - Sept. 1 in Beijing, China.

The 2001 World University Games women's basketball competition, currently featuring squads from 20 countries, has been divided into four preliminary round pools. The United States has been placed in Pool B and will face Canada, Ireland, Japan and South Africa in the preliminary round.

The USA women have enjoyed outstanding success in the World University Games and have earned 11 medals in 12 appearances, including four golds, six silvers and one bronze medal, and have compiled an overall record of 68-14 (.829) since beginning World University Games play in 1973. In the last competition, which was held in 1999 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, the U.S. finished with a 4-2 record and the silver medal. The USA women last earned the World University Games gold in Sicily in 1997.

The United States has been sending women's teams to the World University Games since 1973, and since then the World University Games has served as an important developmental event for the U.S. Of the 64 all-time U.S. women's Olympic basketball team members, 34 have been members of USA Basketball women's World University Games teams. Most notable among the list of WUG alumni are Carol Blazejowski, Ruthie Bolton (Holifield), Denise Curry, Anne Donovan, Kamie Ethridge, Pat Head (Summitt), Tara Heiss, Lisa Leslie, Katrina McClain, Suzie McConnell (Serio), Ann Meyers (Drysdale), DeLisha Milton, Cindy Noble (Hauserman), Vickie Orr (Wiley), Katie Smith, Dawn Staley, Katy Steding, Kara Wolters and Lynette Woodard.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU's Caufield and Hill Invited to USA Basketball Trials

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