UConn commit Katie Lou Samuelson was the leading scorer for the gold-medal
winning United States team at the FIBA U17 World Championship tournament

With UConn commit Katie Lou Samuelson dealing with foul trouble throughout the game and Spain's Angela Salvadores torching whichever United.States player attempted to guard her, the U.S. needed others to deliver to lead the two-time defending championship to a third straight gold medal to a 77-75 victory.

It was UConn recruiting targets Lauren Cox, Asia Durr and Arike Ogunbowale who stepped to the forefront. Cox had 20 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks while Durr finished with 17 points and four assists and Ogunbowale had 15 points and eight rebounds. The trio combined to score the final 10 points for the U.S.

Cox grabbed an offensive rebound in transition and scored to snap a 71-71 tie and blocked a shot at the other end while Durr had a crucial jumper to help the U.S. survive a fierce challenge from Spain.

Salvadores had 40 points, hitting 16 of 29 shots from the field including 5 of 7 from 3-point range in a truly sensational performance. She was named the tournament's MVP while Samuelson was joined on the all-tournament team by her U.S. teammate Joyner Holmes. Salvadores had 13 points in the fourth quarter as Spain led for nearly 4 1/2 minutes in the final period. She ended up as the tournament's leading scorer (19.9 points per game), was first in steals (3.7), second in assists (3.6), third in 3-point percentage (50.0), fourth in field-goal percentage (49.6), sixth in assist/turnover ratio (0.8) and 10th in rebounding (7.4).

Samuelson finished with seven points and three rebounds while fellow UConn commit De'Janae Boykin had five points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Asia Durr finishes FIBA U17 tournament
ranked second in assist/turnover ratio

Lauren Cox nearly had a triple-double in title
game at FIBA U17 World Championships

Samuelson finished with a team-leading 97 points and 19 3-pointers in the seven games. She finished tied for seventh in scoring which finished tied for seventh among all tournament scorers and was second in 3-pointers made. Durr (13.4 points per game), Ogunbowale (10.7) and all-tournament selection Joyner Holmes (10.6) were the other double-digit scorers for the U.S. in the tournament. Durr also finished second in the tournament in assist/turnover ratio.

Cox finished as the team leader in rebounding (8.4) and blocked shots (19), finishing fifth and second in those categories in the tournament. Cox set the single game and tournament U.S. records in blocked shots while Samuelson's 19 3-pointers matched the U.S. mark set by Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis in 2010. UConn commit De’Janae Boykin, one of three U.S. players to start all seven games, averaged 5.1 points. She was the team’s second-leading rebounder (6.1) and tied for second on the team with 16 assists.

Here are quotes from Boykin, Cox, Durr, Sabrina Ionescu, Ogunbowale and Samuelson courtesy of USA Basketball.

De'Janae Boykin
What does it mean to get a second gold medal?
This means a lot to be world champions, it’s great, it’s a great feeling.

What did you think about the game against Spain?
It was a very intense game; very hard, they worked very hard. They’re a great team and so were we, we came out and worked hard and we got the W.

What does this experience mean to you?
This experience means a lot. Just to come out here, we’ve been out here for almost a month, just to come together as a team and come out here and work and it just means a lot that we got the win today.

What do you think is going to stay with you from this experience? 
Just this experience, knowing I’m part of the USA Basketball family and stuff like that.

Lauren Cox
On winning the gold medal:
It’s awesome. It’s a great experience. I’m really blessed to be here to play with this amazing team and these awesome coaches.

On her game against Spain:
I just came into the game wanting to work hard and play hard inside. I knew it was going to be tough. They have big girls inside, so I just had to work hard.

Was there ever any doubt that you might not win?
Spain’s a good team, so we just had to get out there, play good defense and convert on offense.

What’s been the best part of this experience for you? 
Spending time with this awesome team. These coaches are awesome, too. It’s just been a great experience.

Asia Durr
On the gold medal game against Spain:
It was definitely a fight. They have some great shooters on their team. One girl put up 40 or so. It was a hard-fought game for 40 minutes.

Were you ever nervous, were there ever any doubts? 
It wasn't doubt. It was pressure, of course, because they were making every single shot. So, there was definitely pressure.

Do you feel like you executed the game plan or was it all heart?
It was both. We came out there, fought hard and played like there was no other game out there.

Was it the USA’s depth that helped in the end?
Definitely. We have a group of girls who are 12 deep and they all went out there and played their hearts out.

What does it feel like to win your second gold medal?
It’s definitely a blessing. I thank God for all of this.

What will you take away from this experience? 
Meeting a new group of girls, playing with a great group of girls and winning another gold.

Sabrina Ionescu
What does it feel like to win a gold medal?
It feels great. We’ve been practicing for the last, I don’t even know how long, and to finally come here and achieve what we’ve been reaching for this whole time feels great.

What do you think is going to stick with you? 
Definitely the whole learning experience. I’ve learned a lot from Coach Sue and the coaching staff and these girls. It’s a blessing playing with all of these great players so I think playing with all of them gets you better individually and as a team player.

Is there an area in your game you feel like you got specifically better at?
I think the fact that it takes all 12 players to win a gold medal; it’s not just one or two individuals. So the fact that everybody came together through these last couple of weeks; not knowing each other and just coming in and playing and working hard and winning a gold medal.

Arike Ogunbowale
On the game:
I love close games. It was nerve-wracking and crazy, but we kept our composure and played hard.

What do you think was the difference?
They’re a great team, a well-coached team. They’re physical and they have skill like us, so we just had to try to play greater than them. We played really good. They played great, too. But we had to execute at the end of the game and we hit our free throws, which were crucial.

Were you nervous at all?
There’s always nervousness going into big games, but we knew what we had to do. So, we were okay.

What’s it like to win your third gold medal? 
It’s crazy. I’m super excited. I’m super blessed to be able to do this before my senior year and everything that USA Basketball has helped me with, so I’m super blessed.

What have you learned from this experience?
Never give up. We were down in the fourth quarter and we just kept going. Really, just never give up and work with your teammates.

Katie Lou Samuelson
On being named to the all-tournament team:
It’s amazing. I’m just in shock that it all happened that way. I thought I played solid, but I didn’t expect anything like that. I wasn’t trying to go for anything like that, but it’s amazing just to be able to get that and to win the gold medal. It’s amazing.

How does it feel to win your third gold medal?
It’s amazing. It never gets old. It’s the same feeling every time. But, this one was really special. It was such a close game and we played well all the way through to the end. So, it was amazing.

What did you learn from this tournament?
I learned that I have to trust my teammates and just rely on them, because they’re going to come through. I thought everyone played great today. Everyone stepped up when they needed to.

MILESTONES FOR FORMER HUSKIES
A pair of former UConn stars reached scoring landmarks in the WNBA.

Diana Taurasi moved by Katie Smith to become the second all-time leading scorer in the WNBA. Taurasi headed into today's game against Los Angeles with 6,457 points in 316 career regular-season games. Smith scored 6,452 points in 482 career games. After the 87-69 win over Chicago on Wednesday Taurasi said she considered Tina Thompson's WNBA record 7,488 points to be unreachable for her. I'm not so sure as if she continues to score at the 20 point per game rate she has maintained since arriving in the league, she would need 52 more games to get there.

Speaking of impressive stats, five of the WNBA top scorers played at UConn including four on the 2002 national championship team. Swin Cash and Sue Bird rank 14th and 16th on the career scoring charts with 4,731 and 4.678 points respectively. Nykesha Sales is 24th with 3,955 points and Asjha Jones checks in at No. 27 with 3,834 points.

As for the other milestone, Renee Montgomery scored her 2,000th career point in Saturday's win at Tulsa.

After missing the three tune-up exhibitions due to illness, UConn commit Katie Lou Samuelson returned to the court in a major way for the U.S. U-17 team.

Samuelson had a game-high 22 points aided by four 3-pointers and six rebounds as the U.S. defeated China 69-41  in the opening game of Group D play at the FIBA U17 World Championship for Women.

Fellow UConn commit De'Janae Boykin started and finished with two points and three rebounds while UConn recruiting targets Lauren Cox and Sabrina Ionescu led the U.S. with 12 rebounds and five assists respectively. The U.S. will face France, the team which beat the Samuelson-less U.S. in an international friendly, tomorrow before wrapping up pool play against Mali on Tuesday.

Here are quotes from Samuelson and Cox courtesy of USA Basketball

Katie Lou Samuelson
On getting back in the lineup after missing the USA's three exhibition games due to illness:
It felt awesome. It's been such a long time because I had to sit out our exhibition games. It's just a great feeling to finally get out on the floor.

On the game:
I think the first half, we could have played a lot better defensively. But coming out in the second half, we definitely stepped it up and put pressure on them and played just overall a lot better.

On her 22 points:
I just was trying to score within the flow of the game without forcing anything. My teammates got me the ball. I was hitting in the second half, and they really found me. I think I can give the credit to them for finding me and coach leaving me in the game.

On the USA's poor first-half shooting:
At halftime we all knew we weren't shooting well, so we didn't want to force it. Coach's emphasis was on going inside-out, and we tried to get the ball in the paint so we could get our game going. I think we did that, and the shots started falling.

Lauren Cox
On her 12 rebounds:
I think that is part of my role on this team is to get in there and get offensive and defensive rebounds, so I really try to do that every game.

On leading by just seven points at halftime:
I don't think we were worried, we just needed to fix a few things. And we did that. We came out strong in the third quarter. We picked up our defensive intensity, which really helped. We were able to control the tempo.

UConn commit De'Janae Boykin scored in double digits
in two of the three games in exhibition tournament.

The U.S. U-17 team lost to host France 78-72 in the final day of an exhibition tournament despite a huge game from UConn recruiting target Asia Durr.

Durr had 22 points (on 9 of 13 shooting) and six assists. Fellow Class of 2015 UConn recruiting target Arike Ogunbowale added 12 points while UConn commit De'Janae Boykin and Kristine Anigwe finished with 10 points and seven rebounds each.

Durr, who led the U.S. in scoring by averaging 15 points per game, was joined on the all-tournament team by Joyner Holmes who averaged 12.7 points and a team-leading 6.7 rebounds a game. Boykin averaged 9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, Ogunbowale's 12.7 scoring average was tied for second on the team. UConn commit Katie Lou Samuelson did not play in any of the three games due to illness. She is considered to be day for day as the U.S. heads to Czech Republic for the FIBA U-17 World Championshups.

The U.S. opens play in the World Championships on Saturday. A rematch with France will be on Sunday and preliminary round play ends on Tuesday when the U.S. meets Mali.

UConn commits Napheesa Collier and De'Janae Boykin teamed up with UConn recruiting target Arike Ogunbowale as well as Natalie Chou to win the U.S. 3x3 U18 national title.

Collier was named the tournament MVP as her team went 8-0 to clinch a spot in the 2014 Youth Olympic Games from Aug. 16-28 in Nanjing, China, after downing Southern Stars (5-3) 21-14 in the championship game and finishing the weekend undefeated.

"I feel so good, this is such a relief," Collier said. "I think we played really hard, and I tried to leave it all on the court. Something just clicked when we started making the baskets. Natalie (Chou) had a really sick spin move, and I think that really got us going. We can't wait to go to China and meet the other teams and just have fun and go through that cool experience."

The toughest game might have been the first one as Defend defeated the Southern Stars 21-20. Defend rolled to two wins each against the other two teams in preliminary play, giving up a total of 15 points in the four games. In the semifinals Defend defeated No. 4 seed Grind Repeat 21-4 before winning the title against the Southern Stars.

Boykin, Chou and Ogunbowale are members of the U.S. team which will play in the FIBA U-17 World Championships from June 28-July 6 in the Czech Republic while Collier is a part of the squad playing in the FIBA Americas U18 Championships, being held in Colorado Springs from Aug. 6-10.

UConn commits De'Janae Boykin and Katie Lou Samuelson were selected to the 12-member United States squad which will compete in the FIBA U-17 World Championships.

UConn recruiting targets Lauren Cox (2016), Asia Durr (2015) and Arike Ogunbowale also were selected to the squad while Class of 2016 recruiting target Sabrina Ionescu would be added to the team in the event that Samuelson's ankle, which she injured in a scrimmage on Sunday, doesn't heal in time to allow her to play in the event.

The FIBA World Championships begin on June 28 with the U.S. opening up against China. There will also be preliminary games against France on June 29 and Mali on July 1.

An interesting story line to the selections is that only half of the members of last year's U-16 team made the cut as Durr, Samuelson, Cox, Ogunbowale and Boykin were the top five scorers on the team which won the FIBA Americas U16 Championship by an average of of 63.8 points in the five games. The other returnee is 6-foot-9 Nancy Mulkey.

The new additions are rising seniors Kristine Anigwe, Kennedy Burke and Te'a Cooper and Class of 2016 prospects Natalie Chou, Joyner Holmes and Anna Wilson.

Meriden native and Capital Prep rising senior Kiah Gillespie, the 2014 Gatorade Connecticut Player of the Year, was among 34 players cut on Monday morning.

UConn recruiting target Crystal Dangerfield did not make the team but she joined the player pool for the U-18 team. The 12-member roster for that time will be announced tonight.

At first glance it looked like the video count since I arrived in Colorado is approaching 25 and quickly climbing so it will be hard to include all of those videos in the same blog but I thought I would put together a package with video action and interview clips of commits De'Janae Boykin, Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson.

Throughout the recruiting process I kept hearing that Napheesa Collier was not only one of the most physically gifted players in the Class of 2015 but also one of the hardest workers.

Yesterday was the first chance I got to see her up close and personal as the U.S. U-18 trials kicked off. Even in room full of talented prospects Collier's tendency to go full speed on every drill was easy to spot.

So when I spoke to her following the practice, that was one of the things I asked her about.

"What's the point of being out there if you are not going to try?" Collier said. "I try to give to give it all at all times."

The first drill I saw Collier resembled an Energizer Bunny during a 3 on 3 set as she seemingly ran to every spot on the court before sprinting to the corner and knocking down a 3-pointer. But perhaps the most impressive moment for her came when she was on the opposite side of the court when a ball bounced past the 3-point line. She bolted across the court and beat to opposing players, both probably 10 feet closer to her, to snare the loose ball.

Collier isn't only about maximum effort, though. She is a tremendously versatile player who can play both inside or out. In fact during her junior season at nationally-ranked Incarnate Word Academy in St. Louis, she played both on the wing and in the post.

"In the beginning of the year I played on the perimeter but one of our post players got hurt and I had to move down so I had to play the 3/4 (positions)," Collier said. "It helped me get stronger and I am taller, I will be the tallest player on the team next year so it will help me for next year too."

The 6-foot-1 Collier was the first player from the Class of 2015 to commit to UConn. It happened during an official visit to campus last month.

"When I started touring the facilities and meeting with academic advisors, hearing Coach (Geno Auriemma's) concepts for each player I just knew it was the place for me," Collier said.

"It is like a weight off my shoulder when I was able to commit. I don't have to worry about that stuff, I can focus on improving myself."

De'Janae Boykin and Katie Lou Samuelson were also on the same official visit. Boykin's commitment came next before Samuelson, the top-rated player by the All-Star Girls Report and ESPN HoopGurlz, followed suit giving UConn three pieces in what could become one of the best recruiting classes ever signed by UConn.

"That is awesome," Collier said. "I was so happy when they committed because I loved them when we met and I am looking forward to playing with them.

"Katie Lou, I played against her in 3 on 3 (national tournament in 2013) and I heard of Katie Lou and De'Janae before but I have never met them. We were together the whole time, we watched movies the whole team and we were together the whole time so you kind of have to get to know the people you are with.

"I am so excited, it is going to be an awesome four years. I think we all bring something unique to the team so I think we are going to be playing really well together."

Since the official visit didn't come during the season Collier wasn't able to see the team practice but that did not deter her from knowing UConn's style of play would be perfect for her.

"UConn is really well known anyways so I watched them on TV," Collier said. "It would have been awesome to go to a game but I think I have a feel of how they play, what their style is."

Collier's work will not be done when the U-18 trials wrap up tomorrow as she is on a star-studded team including Boykin, Samuelson and UConn recruiting target Arike Ogunbowale (easily one of my favorite players to watch at the U-17 trials) on a team playing in the U.S. U-18 3x3 national tournament here in Colorado Springs. It should give the three future UConn teammates even more of a chance to get to know each other.

"We met this year but we are not going to be there for a full year so I think keeping in contact is going to be really important so we can go in knowing each other," Collier said. "Katie is literally across the country and I am really far so it will be nice to know somebody when you get there. it is an extra bonus that we get to know each other earlier because we are going to be playing with each other, I am really excited."

Since De'Janae Boykin returned from her official visit to UConn she had a pretty good idea where she wanted to play her college basketball but she wasn't quite sure when she wanted to reveal her decision. Then she figured what better way is there to celebrate her 17th birthday than by committing to play for the Huskies.

"I wanted to commit over the summer but I didn't know when," said the 6-foot-2 forward from Springdale, Md. "Then I thought maybe my birthday would be the best time."

So on Sunday she made her intentions clear before calling not only UConn coach Geno Auriemma but also coaches from North Carolina, Penn State, Virginia and Tennessee.

Boykin visited UConn twice in recent months. The first time she sat in the stands next to UConn commits Courtney Ekmark and Gabby Williams during an unofficial visit. More recently she was on campus along with other highly-touted high school juniors Napheesa Collier (who committed to UConn before returning home to Missouri), Haley Gorecki (who committed to Duke) and Katie Lou Samuelson, who is still undecided.

"It was fun just or all of us to be together, where we were throughout the process and we were able to talk about the recruiting process," Boykin said.

She will see Samuelson and Collier again later this month for the junior national team trials as Boykin and Samuelson will try out for the U-17 squad and Collier for the U-18. The two UConn commits will stay on after the trials and play together on a team competing in the U.S. 3x3 U18 National Championship in Colorado Springs.

"I am excited but also excited that we get to play on the 3x3 team together," Boykin said.

Boykin averaged 21.1 points and 16.7 rebounds as a junior at Flowers High School while shooting 64 percent from field and posting six games with more than one 3-pointer. Boykin had four games with 20 points and 20 rebounds including three in a four-game span.

Now she is part of the future at UConn.

After the Huskies signed five perimeter players in the last two classes, UConn has two of the top 10 prospects in the class in the 6-foot-2 Boykin and 6-1 Collier. The timing couldn't be better as the Huskies lost All-American center Stefanie Dolson to graduation and Kiah Stokes will graduate before either Boykin or Collier suit up for the Huskies.

"Anywhere I went I felt like I could help any program but being able to help UConn would be the biggest one because they are losing Stefanie and they will be losing Kiah," Boykin said. I think it was the best place for me to go in there learn and develop as a player."

It also helped that she bonded so well with the UConn coaches and players.

"Everybody feels like they are so different but they are actually pretty cool," Boykin said. "It surprised me and my family. I feel in love with the coaches and the players."

She will take part in the U.S.U-17 national team trials later this month. She was a member of the U.S. U-16 team last summer as she was the team's second-leading rebounder (averaging 7.6 per game) and was the fifth-leading scorer at 8.4 points per game as the U.S. won all five of its games during the FIBA Americas U16 tournament.

De'Janae Boykin has narrowed her list of schools to five.

Boykin, a 6-foot-2 forward from Springdale, Md., has already taken visits to Penn State and UConn while North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia are the other finalists for Boykin who was among the four highly-touted high school juniors visiting UConn over the weekend.

Boykin averaged 21.1 points and 16.7 rebounds as a junior at Flowers High School while shooting 64 percent from field and posting six games with more than one 3-pointer. Boykin had four games with 20 points and 20 rebounds including three in a four-game span.

NO FENWAY TRIP FOR UCONN WOMEN
Today was supposed to be the day when the UConn men's and women's basketball team was going to be honored before the Boston Red Sox game. However, UConn sent out a release expressing regretting that the women's basketball team would not be able to make the trip.

Due to an unforeseen conflict, the UConn women’s basketball team will not be participating in the first pitch ceremony at Fenway tonight.  The team feels awful as it would have been a great moment for UConn and we have apologized to the Red Sox.  The men are still scheduled to head up there and hopefully the Red Sox will consider having us at a later date.  

UConn signee Kia Nurse is one of three finalists for the Golden Horseshoe Athlete of the Year award joining golfer MacKenzie Hughes and football player Mercer Timmins. The award is given to the top athlete from either Hamilton or Burlington, Ontario.

Nurse, a 6-foot guard. had 31 points in the championship game victory over Pope John Paul II to lead her St. Thomas More squad to its third straight OFSAA Class AAAA title.

Nurse also played 23 games with Canada's national team in 2013 and averaged 9 points and 2.5 rebounds per game as Canada posted a 17-6 mark. She averaged 10 points, 2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game as Canada finished second in the FIBA Americas Championship for Women to secure a spot in the FIBA World Championship for Women in late September and early October in Turkey.

Former Notre Dame soccer star Melissa Tancredi, who led Canada to a bronze medal in the 2012 Olympics, was last year's winner.

WILLIAMS DELIVERS WITH GENO WATCHING
With the way things worked out, my original itinerary home from Texas had to be altered because a flight delay would have resulted in missing my connecting flight through Charlotte. Plan B wasn't too bad as I was put on a direct flight which got me home about an hour earlier than originally planned. The flight also happened to be the one the UConn team was on. I did not see most of the coaches on the flight and assumed they headed their separate ways for recruiting purposes. I saw a tweet that UConn was at Class of 2015 recruiting target De'Janae Boykins' game last night and Geno Auriemma headed out to Nevada to see UConn signee Gabby Williams play.

Williams did not disappoint as she scored 35 points (shooting 17 of 26 from field) to go with 11 rebounds, 10 assists, six steals and two blocked shots in a 66-24 win over North Valleys and she added . Williams had 19 points in the first quarter and established a new season high for the second time in five days. Williams is averaging 21.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 4.6 steals and 2.1 blocks per game. She was held out of the season opener as she worked her way back from the knee injury she suffered during her junior season. Reed, out of Sparks, Nev., lost that game but is 9-0 with Williams in the lineup.

I thought it was interesting to read in the Reno Gazette-Journal that Williams' father, a highly-respected figure in Nevada AAU circles, recommended to Auriemma that he keep an eye on another Nevada high school star Mallory McGwire, a 6-foot-4 sophomore and niece of former Oakland A's and St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire.

(Photo courtesy of USA Basketball)
UConn recruiting target Asia Durr was named to the U.S. U-16 squad.

Asia Durr and Katie Lou Samuelson, the only members of the Class of 2015 known to have scholarship honors from UConn and DeJanae Boykin, who has been quoted as saying she intends to make an unofficial visit to UConn this summer, were among 12 players named to the U.S. team which will be competing in the FIBA Americas U16 Championships next month.

Durr is a 5-foot-11 guard from Douglasville, Ga., who is considered by many to be the best player in the Class of 2015. Samuelson is a 6-foot-3 guard/forward who plays for California powerhouse Mater Dei (the alma mater of UConn All-American Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis) while Boykin will play for Flowers High after being a star at national power Riverdale Baptist last season.

The 12-member team was selected after four days of trials featuring 132 players. Ten of the 12 players were among the 33 initially invited to the tryouts by the selection committee. Sabrina Ionescu and Taylor Murray were the only players out of the 102 who applied for inclusion for the trials to make the team. The U.S. opens up against Brazil on June 19 with the gold-medal game scheduled for June 23 in Cancun, Mexico.

Here are quotes from Boykin, Durr and Samuelson courtesy of USA Basketball.

DeJanae Boykin (Charles H. Flowers H.S./Springdale, Md.)
How did you feel when you heard your name called?
I was very surprised. It’s an accomplishment to be able to be out here and play for the USA team and be able to represent your country. It means a lot. I was really excited. It was a blessed moment to be able to be out here and be able to represent the USA.

How tough was the competition this weekend?
It was really tough. I was very nervous. Playing against all the top people in the class of 2015 and 2016 and younger kids, also. It was very good to play against them.

What does it mean for you to have an opportunity to represent your country?
It means a lot to actually be out here and know that people recognize my talent, and I can represent my country.

Did you ever think you would have an opportunity like this?
I thought I could make it, I knew it. I thought I could make it, so I just stuck to my game.

What were you trying to show to the committee this weekend?
Versatility. I would love to be a post player, but as you can see, I’m not really that tall. I can shoot out on the wing. I can guard post players, I can guard guards, I can do whatever you want me to do.


Asia Durr (St. Pius X Catholic H.S./Douglasville, Ga.)
What did you try to focus on during the trials?
There were a few things that I tried to show. I tried to show that I was coachable, that I hustled, and that I play very hard and that I never gave up. I continued to play when I turned the ball over, I said to myself, ‘next play, I got it, I got it, and just keep your head up.'

How did you think your trials went?
They went good. It was tough, they were long but I was excited about it and I was very thankful.

When they got the finalists together and to announce who had made the team, were you nervous and how did you feel when you heard your name?
When I heard my name the first thing I did was thank God because none of this is possible without him. It was a great feeling because I was very stressed, I was so stressed, but this is a really great feeling.

What does it mean to you to represent your country in the FIBA Americas U16 Championship?
It means the world to me. This is a great chance I have to go out and try to represent my country. It’s a good feeling.

Katie Lou Samuelson (Mater Dei H.S./Huntington Beach, Calif.)

Congratulations on making the USA Basketball Women’s U16 National Team. What does this mean for you?
It’s amazing. It’s the greatest feeling ever. Just knowing that everything I’ve worked for all my life is paying off and that I get to represent this country that all the greatest players have. It’s just unbelievable.

Did you envision this for yourself growing up as a kid or even just weeks before you attended trials?
Yeah. When I was little, I grew up watching all these teams, and I just always wanted to be a part of it. I just knew if I kept working hard, I might be able to get it. Knowing I got invited before, it just became real to me. It still doesn’t seem that real right now, but it’s crazy.

Would you say this is the biggest honor of your basketball career?
Definitely.

What makes it so special?
It’s so special because just being able to represent your country, your whole country, and that you can actually do that and bring home a gold medal for them. It’s crazy.

Have you been able to tell your two sisters yet? (Samuelson’s sister Bonnie tried out for the 2009 U16 National Team, while her other sister, Karlie, tried out for the 2012 U17 World Championship Team.)
Yes I did.

What did they have to say?
They’re super excited that I finally did it because they didn’t get to.

Do you feel like there was one day during the trials where you caught the selection committee’s eye or do you feel like it was the whole trials in general?
I definitely thought the first session of scrimmaging was probably my best. I thought that was a great way to start off playing good. The next day, I didn’t have that great of sessions, but the second session I actually did better. I just thought that hopefully those two sessions could help me out and that they saw those plays that I did.

You come back for training camp in a few weeks. What are your plans until then?
Just to do the workouts they gave us.

They gave you some workouts?
Yeah they did, and I’m just going to keep working hard and get in better shape.

The competition is taking place in Cancun, Mexico. Have you ever been there or heard anything about it?
Nope. I’ve never been anywhere outside of the country, so I’m very excited.

What is the biggest thing you take away from the last few days?
Definitely just how hard everyone played and just how positive everything was. I’m just going to try and take that back to my high school team and get everyone to be as positive and hard working as everyone was here.

What is it going to take to win the FIBA Americas U16 Championship?
I think we’re just really going to have to play well as a team and not focus on anyone who needs to score. We just have to get the right baskets and make the best plays.