2 with Arizona ties named to national women’s basketball teams
May 17, 2015, 12:43 PM | Updated: 12:44 pm
Arizona will be well-represented in a pair of international basketball tournaments taking place in July.
Sydney Wiese has been named to the 12-member roster of the USA Basketball women’s team for the 2015 World University Games, which will be hosted in Gwangju, South Korea, from July 4-13.
Wiese attended Pinnacle High School in Phoenix and recently finished her sophomore year at Oregon State. The 6-foot guard averaged 12.7 points and 5.6 assists and started all 32 games for the 2014-15 Ducks.
The U.S. team will be led by Northwestern University head coach Joe McKeown. Players eligible for the national team are currently enrolled as full-time college students with remaining eligibility for the 2015-16 school year.
“I feel like we have tremendous talent and balance, McKeown said in a press release. “We have size, we have quickness and the ability to score the basketball a high level. The challenge will be, obviously, to blend everybody together. But I feel like we have a real unselfish group, and it is going to be a lot of fun.”
Additionally, Kristine Anigwe of Desert Vista High School in Phoenix has been chosen to play in the 2015 FIBA U19 (under 19) World Championship, being held in Chekhov, Russia, from July 18-26.
Anigwe was a gold medalist with the U.S.’ under-17 World Championship team in 2014.
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley will lead the U19 women’s group.
“I thought the committee did a great job of putting a great team together,” Staley said in a statement. “This is a very versatile team. A lot of players can play different positions. I’m looking forward to working with all of them. We have great point guard play. We’ve got a great perimeter play. We’ve got a lot of length and size.”
The Grand Canyon State will also have a large tie to the men’s portion of the FIBA U19 World Championship. University of Arizona head coach Sean Miller was chosen to lead the group earlier this week. The men’s tournament takes place in Crete, Greece, from June 27 to July 5.
