George Washington University Athletics
Jessica Adair Begins USA Basketball's DC Training Camp Friday
7/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
July 5, 2007
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WASHINGTON, DC - George Washington rising junior Jessica Adair will be one of 15 finalists competing for a spot on the 12-member 2007 USA Basketball Women's Pan American Games Team at an 11-day training camp beginning Friday, July 6, at various venues in the District.
The first training session will take place at the Washington Mystics' Verizon Center practice facility on Friday at 7:00 pm. American's Bender Arena will host morning and evening sessions on July 7 and 8 and Georgetown's McDonough Arena will welcome a morning session on July 9. The training camp will rotate between the three venues until July 16, when the 12-player team will depart for Brazil, the host country for this year's Pan American Games. The final 12-player roster is expected to be announced prior to July 15.
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. Coaching the USA squad will be Temple University head coach Dawn Staley, a 2007-08 USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team assistant coach. Assisting Staley will be collegiate head coaches Kathy Delaney-Smith of Harvard University and Bill Gibbons of College of the Holy Cross.
Adair was among 45 invitees to the National Team Trials, which began May 17, in Colorado Springs, CO, vying for a roster spot on either the 2007 FIBA U21 Women's World Championship or Pan American Games Teams. 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.
Adair was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team after averaging 12.9 points and a team-leading 7.6 rebounds per game for the Colonials in 2006-07. Adair also led GW with 52.8 percent field goal shooting, 52 blocks and 87 made free throws. She posted nine double-doubles this season, including a 15-point, 21-rebound effort against Boise State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in March. The 21 boards tied the fourth-most in NCAA Tournament history and were the most since North Carolina's Charlotte Smith grabbed 23 in the 1994 NCAA Championship game.
GW tied the school record with 28 victories, advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 for the first time since 1997, and finished the 2006-07 season ranked 11th in the final USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Top 25 poll. GW's .875 (28-4) winning percentage was the best in school history. Head coach Joe McKeown led the Colonials to their sixth straight regular-season league crown, 16th 20-win season and 14th NCAA Tournament appearance.
For more information please visit USABasketball.com.
