Tonight we will get a chance to see USA Basketball in action for the first time as they prepare for the 2018 FIBA World Cup. USA will take on China in a “friendly” or exhibition game in Seattle at KeyArena this evening. After two days of training and a team compiled of 19 of the top talents in the world, the committee and Dawn Staley set their roster of 13 for the contest.
Morgan Tuck will take the place of Elena Delle Donne who was originally on the roster for tonight, but suffered a neck strain in practice:
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Team USA Roster
Seimone Augustus: Minnesota Lynx — 6’0″-Forward
Sue Bird: Seattle Storm — 5’9″-Guard
Layshia Clarendon: Atlanta Dream — 5’9″-Guard
Skylar Diggins-Smith: Dallas Wings — 6’0″-Guard
Stefanie Dolson: Chicago Sky — 6’5″-Center
Sylvia Fowles: Minnesota Lynx — 6’6″-Center
Tiffany Hayes: Atlanta Dream — 5’10”-Guard
Jewell Loyd: Seattle Storm — 5’11”-Guard
Kelsey Mitchell: Indiana Fever — 5’8″-Guard
Breanna Stewart: Seattle Storm — 6’4″-Guard/Forward
Diana Taurasi: Phoenix Mercury — 6’0″-Guard
Morgan Tuck: Connecticut Sun — 6’2″-Forward
Elizabeth Williams: Atlanta Dream — 6’3″-Forward/Center
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“There are hard decisions to be make, when you have to send such good players home,” Staley said Thursday evening. “But, their sacrifice will one day pay off, hopefully in the near future for them. The 13 players that were assembled to compete against China will give us an opportunity to see some of our experienced players back together again, along with some of the younger, inexperienced players.”
“You can’t take for granted playing China. We’re going to play to win the basketball game, but we’re also going to utilize some players so we can see them play in a game like this.” Said Staley.
The USA Basketball team will compete in the 2018 FIBA World Cup in September and in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, should they qualify. USA are the winners of back-to-back previous World Cups and won gold in four of the last five FIBA World Cups. The 2018 FIBA World Cup will begin preliminary rounds September 22 as USA will take on Senegal.
Tonight’s contest will tip off at 7:00pm PDT (10:00pm EDT) and can be seen at usab.com/live.
