USA Basketball announces rosters for games against UConn and Louisville

USA Basketball revealed the rosters for the senior women’s national team’s two games against collegiate opponents in January and February. The USA SWNT faces UConn on Jan. 27  at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2) and Louisville on Feb. 2 at 2 p.m. ET (ESPN). The games will also serve as a homecoming for five athletes who will play against their former college teams.

• Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Tina Charles (New York Liberty), Breanna Stewart (Seattle Storm) and Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury) return to UConn
•  Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream), an All-American while playing for Louisville, will face her alma mater

Bird, Stewart, and Taurasi will compete in both games, while Charles is available only for the Connecticut game. McCoughtry will only play against Louisville.

The remaining roster for both games:

• Layshia Clarendon (Connecticut Sun/California)
• Skylar Diggins-Smith (Dallas Wings/Notre Dame)
• Sylvia Fowles (Minnesota Lynx/Louisiana State)
• Chelsea Gray (Los Angeles Sparks/Duke)
• Kayla McBride (Las Vegas Aces/Notre Dame)
• Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles Sparks/Stanford)
• Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas Aces/Washington)
• A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces/South Carolina)

After the college exhibitions, the team will play in the  2020 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Feb. 6-9. The USA plays host Serbia on Feb. 6, followed by Mozambique on Feb. 8 and Nigeria on Feb. 9. The top two finishing teams, aside from the USA, will earn an Olympic berth. The USA has already earned a spot in the 2020 Olympic field,

The FIBA tournament roster will include Bird, Diamond DeShields (Chicago Sky/Tennessee), Diggins-Smith, Fowles, Gray, Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury/Baylor), Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm/Notre Dame), Ogwumike, Stewart, Taurasi, and Wilson.

The USA head coach Dawn Staley (South Carolina) will not be available for the January and February training and competitions due to commitments to her college program.  Assistant coaches Dan Hughes (Seattle Storm) and Cheryl Reeve (Minnesota Lynx) will serve as co-coaches. The third assistant, UConn grad Jennifer Rizzotti (George Washington), will join the USA bench for the contest at her alma mater before rejoining her GW team.