Summary USA Basketball named 33 players for next week's women's national team training camp.
COLORADO SPRINGS (AFP) - USA Basketball named 33 players, 11 of them Olympic gold medalists, to next week s women s national team training camp, the first step on the way to the 2014 World Championships and 2016 Olympics.
Three-time Olympic champions Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and Tamika Catchings are among those who will be attend the workout session October 4-6 at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.
The camp will help USA Basketball s selection committee name players to the national team pool for the next four-year cycle, in which American women will try to defend Olympic gold in 2016 at Brazil and defend the world crown next year at Turkey.
US women have won five of the past seven world titles, a run that began in 1986 and was interrupted only by Brazil in 1994 and Australia in 2006.
The Americans have gone 80-1 since 1996 in international competitions, taking Olympic gold in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and last year plus world titles in 1998, 2002 and 2010.
Other Olympic champions back for the US squad include two-time winners Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles and Candace Parker, 2012 championship players Tina Charles, Angel McCoughtry, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen and 2008 Olympic Cappie Pondexter.
"You have some who have helped us already win world championships and gold medals at the Olympics and those who certainly we need to take a look at to prepare for the future," US coach Geno Auriemma said.
