WKU head coach Michelle Clark-Heard and the US Pan American Games team is set to begin pool play at the 2015 Pan American Games women’s basketball competition tomorrow, facing off against Brazil in their event opener at 8 p.m. CT., in Toronto. Clark-Heard, one of two assistant coaches on the squad, is joined on the coaching staff by head coach Lisa Bluder of the University of Iowa and fellow assistant coach Scott Rueck of Oregon State University.
The USA women have been placed into Group A and will take on Brazil on July 16, Dominican Republic on July 17 and Puerto Rico on July 18 in the preliminary round. Competing in Group B will be Argentina, Canada, Cuba and Venezuela.
Clark-Heard, the 2015 Conference USA Coach of the Year and a 2015 Pat Summitt Trophy award finalist, led her alma mater to a 30-5 mark in 2014-15, setting a new Conference USA record for wins in a seasonand posting the second 30-win season in WKU history. She is also just the 10th coach in NCAA history to lead their alma mater into the Associated Press Top 25 rankings as both a player and coach when the Lady Toppers were ranked in January. She was also the 2012-13 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year.
The 2015 Pan American Games women’s basketball competition will take place July 16-20 in Toronto, Canada. The USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Team Committee selects players and coaches for the 2015 U.S. Pan American Women’s Basketball Team, and the United States Olympic Committee approves the coaching staff. Clark-Heard and the team reported to Colorado Springs, Colo., on Friday, July 3 for training camp before leaving for Toronto on July 9.
The roster includes Linnae Harper (Kentucky/Chicago, Ill.); Moriah Jefferson (Connecticut/Glenn Heights, Texas); Stephanie Mavunga (North Carolina/Brownsburg, Ind.); Tiffany Mitchell (South Carolina/Charlotte, N.C.); Kelsey Plum (Washington/Poway, Calif.); Taya Reimer (Notre Dame/Fishers, Ind.); Breanna Stewart (Connecticut/North Syracuse, N.Y.); Sophie Brunner (Arizona State/Freeport, Ill.); Alaina Coates (South Carolina/Irmo, S.C.); Caroline Coyer (Villanova/Oak Hill, Va.); Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (Maryland/Aliquippa, Pa.); and Courtney Williams (Texas A&M/Houston, Texas).
The Pan American Games are a multi-sport event featuring teams from North, South and Central American and the Caribbean that are organized by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) and played every four years in the year preceding the Olympics (2015, 2019, etc.).
In 2015, the Pan American Games also precede the zone’s Olympic-qualifying tournament -- the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship that will be played Aug. 9-16 in Edmonton, Canada. While the USA is qualified for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games by virtue of winning the 2014 FIBA World Championship, the 2015 U.S. Pan American Women’s Basketball Team will be competing against seven national teams who all are preparing for high-stakes competition.
Since the first Pan American Games for women in 1955, the USA has compiled an overall record of 87-15 and won eight gold medals, three silver medals and two bronze medals. The USA’s last gold medal came in 2007, under the direction of 10-time USA Basketball gold medalist Dawn Staley.
Notable U.S. players to have taken part in the Pan American Games women’s basketball competition include: Jennifer Azzi (1991); Cynthia Cooper-Dyke (1987); Anne Donovan (1987 and 1983); Teresa Edwards (1991 and 1987); Pat (Head) Summit (1975); Nancy Lieberman (1979 and 1975); Katrina McClain (1991 and 1987); Carla McGhee (1995); Ann (Meyers) Drysdale (1979 and 1975); Cheryl Miller (1983); Dawn Staley (1995); and Sheryl Swoopes (1995).
In addition to Foster, the USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Team Committee includes NCAA appointees Melanie Balcomb (Vanderbilt), Lindsay Gottlieb (California) and Joi Williams (UCF); and athlete representative Kara Lawson Barling, a 2008 Olympic gold medalist.
ABOUT USA BASKETBALL: Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA Basketball, chaired by Jerry Colangelo, is a nonprofit organization and the national governing body for men’s and women’s basketball in the United States. As the recognized governing body for basketball in the U.S. by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), USA Basketball is responsible for the selection, training and fielding of USA teams that compete in FIBA-sponsored international competitions, as well as for some national competitions, and for the development of youth basketball initiatives that address player development, coach education and safety.
USA Basketball men’s and women’s teams between 2012-14 compiled a spectacular 122-4 win-loss record in FIBA and FIBA Americas competitions, the World University Games and the Nike Hoop Summit, and posted a 65-8 win-loss record in official FIBA and FIBA Americas 3x3 competitions.
USA teams are the current men’s and women’s champions in the Olympics; men’s FIBA World Cup and women’s FIBA World Championship; men’s and women’s FIBA?U19 and U17 World Championships; men’s and women’s U18 and U16 FIBA Americas Championships; the Nike Hoop Summit; the FIBA?3x3 Women’s World Championship; the FIBA?3x3 Women’s U18 World Championship and the women’s Youth Olympic Games. USA Basketball currently ranks No. 1 in all five of FIBA’s world-ranking categories, including combined, men’s, women’s, boys and girls.
Connect with USA Basketball on facebook/usabasketball, twitter/usabasketball, youtube/usab, plus.google/+usabasketball andinstagram.com/usabasketball.
2015 Pan American Games Women’s Basketball Competition Schedule
Group A - Brazil, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, USA
Group B - Argentina, Canada, Cuba, Venezuela
Preliminary Round
Thursday, July 16
10:30 a.m. Cuba vs. Argentina
1:30 p.m. Puerto Rico vs. Dominican Republic
6:00 p.m. Canada vs. Venezuela
9:00 p.m. USA vs. Brazil on ESPN3 and on ESPN2’s whip around Coverage of Pan Am Games
Friday, July 17
10:30 a.m. Venezuela vs. Cuba
1:30 p.m. Puerto Rico vs. Brazil
6:00 p.m. Argentina vs. Canada
9:00 p.m. Dominican Republic vs. USA on ESPN3
Saturday, July 18
10:30 a.m. Argentina vs. Venezuela
1:30 p.m. Brazil vs. Dominican Republic
6:00 p.m. Canada vs. Cuba
9:00 p.m. USA vs. Puerto Rico on ESPN3
Semifinals
Sunday, July 19
10:30 a.m. Classification Game #1
1:30 p.m. Medal Semifinal #1
6:00 p.m. Medal Semifinal #2
9:00 p.m. Classification Game #2
Finals
Monday, July 20
4:00 p.m. Bronze Medal Game
8:45 p.m. Gold Medal Game
All times listed are ET and are local to site.
All Games will be played at the Ryerson Athletic Center.