http://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2015/05/15-wu16-trials-reduction-1.aspx

They just made the first cut from 149 to a still-huge 92 athletes. There weren't/aren't a ton of NorCal kids. DeCosta of course still around. I saw a tweet that said she is "officially" ranked #5 at this point nationally for the c/o 2018 by ASGR. Sierra Smith also from SMS still playing. Then one name that caught my eye was Haley Jones from Santa Cruz because she was one of only 8 girls from the c/o 2019 still in the pool. Sounds like someone we'll be hearing about in the future!: http://passthaball.com/2014/11/10/2019-haley-jones/

Oops! There have been 2 cuts and now down to 70, with the 8th grader Jones still there.

Actually I noticed by birth dates that Sierra Smith, who is still there after the second cut to 70, is in fact younger than some of the girls in the 2019 class even though she is class of 2017. She might still be eligible for the under 16's when she is a senior. It's been the fad recently to hold your kids back so that being more physically and emotionally mature they will gain a competitive edge over their class mates. I suppose Sierra's parents got it all confused and instead moved her up.

Final roster selections announced: http://www.usab.com/womens/u16/roster.aspx

3 Cali girls made it: DeCosta (whom many observers heavily expected to be chosen), Jayda Adams (c/o 2017 from Mater Dei, younger sis of Jordan Adams of USC), and Destiny Littleton (also c/o 2017 from the Bishop's School in La Jolla).

The lone 8th grader from the final 40, 5'7" PG Chloe Chapman from Maryland, did not make the final team but was pegged as the best PG after the first round of cuts by Blue Star and had also been expected to make the final roster by Prospects Nation.

Jayda Adams only averaged 3.4 ppg as a soph for Mater Dei HS. Also, Madison Johnson only averaged 1.9 ppg as a freshman this past year for Mater Dei, but still managed to make the final 40.

The 8th grader from Santa Cruz I mentioned, Haley Jones, did not make the final 40, but in looking back at the final 70 pool, she was the second-youngest player to survive that round (one of just two kids born in '01 to make it past the first 2 cuts). I will be keeping tabs on her as she might be a premier player for her class in NorCal and perhaps a high-major BCS caliber recruit nationally.

The kid sis of UCLA's Recee Caldwell made the final squad.

Final selection Honesty Scott-Grayson (PG c/o 2018) was a HS teammate of our incoming recruit Bre Cavanaugh for Blair Academy in NJ. Also, their other c/o 2018 Blair teammate Andra Espinoza-Hunter, an early UConn commit, made the final roster as well.

DeCosta was ranked #5 nationally by ASGR at the start of trials. #1 Charli Collier, a 6'4" forward/post from Texas, did not make the final squad though by all accounts performed very well. Still, would be fun to see if the NorCal girl DeCosta can make a run for the top spot in the nation.

Unfortunately, UConn seems to really have taken a liking to DeCosta. Looks like she might visit Storrs this fall (http://snyuconn.com/uconn/notebook-freshman-decostas-star-rising/). Fortunately, it sounds like she hasn't quite drank the Koolaid just yet: she mentions that academics are important to her and that she needs to do more research on UConn as a school, which could help Cal :bravo.

The state of Washington seems to have a great 2017 class.

Though PG Juanita Agosto is ranked #25 in the country by Hoopgurlz, she did not participate in the trials. Furthermore, Shalexxus Aaron (originally from Apple Valley, CA) is another big name from WA's 2017 group that has received plenty of ink nationally and has 4-stars on Prospects Nation but also did not attend these trials.

Never-the-less, WA was represented by a trio in the final 70 pool: Tea Adams (HS teammate of Aaron), Darion Brown, and Taya Corosdale (who also actually advanced to the final 40). Prospects Nation was very high on the 6'1" versatile forward Corosdale during these trials and picked her among the 24 girls they thought had the best chances of making the final squad (http://prospectsnation.com/story/u16-pn-staff-draft). Blue Star also mentioned her as being in contention for the final roster in assessing the trials.

Thanks for the comprehensive rundown, kat0189.

Yes Kat0189 thanks for the summary!

of course, y/w!!! :-P

I'm sure Kat is all over this and will provide summaries. When the schedule post Mexico is 2 hours ahead of us.

The schedule for the U16 Americas Women’s Championship can be found here (all of them local Puebla, Mexico time): http://fibaamericas.com/en/torneos_cal.asp?t=BWOQQYFERA&xtab=2

Every game will be broadcasted live on youtube.com/fiba.


William Rosario
Communications Manager Americas
We are Basketball

lol! not sure if I'll be able to watch these games, at least not in real time. So if anyone catches them be sure to keep us in the loop here! Keep a close eye on future Cal Bear (haha, at least hopefully! :acclaim Aquira DeCosta!

6/24- USA vs Argentina 80-48. It was a blow out...you could see Argentina was over matched.

6/25- USA vs Honduras - first 5 min Honduras was leading by 6 (USA ladies nerves, needed to settle down) then there were some tie-ups and by half time USA pulled away up 15. 3rd quarter 1 min left USA blowing them out... at the end of 3 quarters score USA 52 Honduras 32.
GAME OVER USA 86, Honduras 41.
US vs Mexico tomorrow night at 6.p.m.

6/26- USA blew out Mexico 85 to 44. They play Brazil in the semi-final round tomorrow at 4p.m. If USA does there job and Canada there's (both teams 3-0) then USA should meet Canada in championship game on Sunday. GO USA!!!!

6/27- Semi finals USA vs Brazil. US lost 72 to 63. :cry: Q1- Brazil 21, US 14 Brazil PG was raining 3's and the post player was rebounding and getting second chance points. Half time Brazil 45, US 27. Shots not falling for US no rebounding, boxing out. Q3- Brazil 58, US 31. Brazil playing with more heart/aggressive, transition plays and more accurate shooting. US looked deflated. Fourth quarter US trying to come back #4 Morris (Texas) & #7 LittleJohn (San Diego) are giving the most effort and trying to motivate the team but the come back too late. Brazil celebrated as if they won the championship! Brazil had one loss to Canada in pool play (lost by 14) but now they have a second crack at them since Canada did their job (undefeated 4-0) beating Mexico in semi's. US will see Mexico again (team they blew out) tomorrow for 3rd place. In my opinion Brazil was not the better team just the better team today.

http://www.usab.com/news-events/news/index.aspx

Argentina game article