May 20, 2007

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Sophomore guard Krystal Ellis was selected as one of 14 athletes vying for 12 roster spots on the 2007 USA Women's Pan American Games Team following the May 17-20 USA National Team Trials at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The trials featured 45 athletes looking for a coveted roster spot. 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 13 other athletes still in contention for a spot on the final 12-member USA Pan Am Games Team include: Jessica Adair (George Washington / 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.); 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) and Candice Wiggins (Stanford / San Diego, Calif.).

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.

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.

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 Janerio, 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.