2009 PRESEASON WNIT TEAMS ANNOUNCED
The 16-team field for the Preseason Women's National Invitational Tournament to be held from Nov. 13-22, 2009, has been announced. The event features a three-game guarantee format. First-round games will be played on Friday, Nov. 13; second-round games Nov. 15-16; semifinals on Nov. 18-19; and the championship on Sunday, Nov. 22. Participating schools host all games, and sites announced by the end of the preceding round. First-round games are: Eastern Illinois at Ohio State, UTEP at Florida Gulf Coast, Arkansas-Little Rock at Oklahoma State, Towson at West Virginia, Winthrop at Georgia Tech, Chicago State at Bowling Green, North Carolina A&T at Marist, and Northern Colorado at New Mexico.

TOP COLLEGIANS HEAD USA WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES TEAM
Two-time USA Basketball gold medalists Jantel Lavender (Ohio State), Maya Moore (UConn), and Kayla Pedersen (Stanford) head the USA Women's World University Games team that will compete at the 2009 Games, July 1-11, in Belgrade, Serbia. Other members of the team are Tina Charles (UConn), Alexis Gray-Lawson (California), Tiffany Hayes (UConn), Ashley Houts (Georgia), Danielle McCray (Kansas), Jacinta Monroe (Florida State), Ta'Shia Phillips (Xavier), Jeanette Pohlen (Stanford), and Danielle Robinson (Oklahoma). Charli Turner Thorne, the head women's basketball coach at Arizona State, coaches the team. Suzy Merchant of Michigan State and Julie Rousseau of Pepperdine University assist Turner Thorne.

VICKIE JOHNSON PLAYS FINAL SEASON Vickie Johnson, who has played more games and more minutes than any other player in the history of the WNBA, will retire after the current campaign. A two-time all-star, Johnson is currently with the San Antonio Silver Stars. She began her professional career 13 years ago with the New York Liberty and played in NYC before signing with the Silver Stars in February 2006. Johnson, Tina Thompson and Tamecka Dixon are the only players to have played in every season of the league's existence. Johnson has more than 4,000 points, 1,500 rebounds and 1,000 assists.

SEC ANNOUNCES TOURNAMENT SITES
The Southeastern Conference women's basketball tournaments in 2010, 2013 and 2014 will be held at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, GA. The Sommet Center in Nashville, TN, will be the host for the 2011 and 2012 tourneys.

SEASON OVER FOR AUGUSTUS
All-star forward Seimone Augustus will miss the remainder of the WNBA season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee. The injury occurred in the second quarter of the Lynx game with Phoenix. Surgery will take place in the immediate future. Appearing in the first six games of the season, Augustus was averaging a team-high 21.0 ppg. (third in the WNBA) and 4.2 rpg.

CATCHINGS AND WIGGINS NAMED WNBA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Tamika Catchings of Indiana and Candice Wiggins of Minnesota have been named WNBA Players of the Week for the week ending June 28. Catchings, named the winner of the Eastern Conference, averaged 18.5 ppg., 11.0 rpg., 4.5 spg. and 3.5 apg. in helping the Fever sweep a two-game set with New York and extending its winning streak to a franchise-record six contests. It was Catchings 12th Player of the Week honor of her career. The Western Conference winner Wiggins won her first weekly award in helping Minnesota to a 2-0 week. Wiggins, picking up the slack for the injured Seimone Augustus, averaged 23.5 ppg. on 45.7 percent shooting, 4.5 apg., 4.0 rpg. and 2.5 spg.

SUMMITT TEACHING INTERNATIONALLY
The summer camp run by Tennessee head women's basketball coach Pat Summitt and her staff took on an international flavor early in June. Ten Iraq girls, as part of a U.S. Department of State exchange program, took part in the camp. The girls participated in the camp, toured Washington, attended a WNBA game, and visited the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

UAPB PROMOTES ASSISTANT
Cary Shelton, an assistant for the Arkansas-Pine Bluff men's and women's basketball teams, has been hired as the new head coach of the women, and will take over the program next month.

LESLIE ON INJURED LIST
WNBA all-time great Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks will miss six games because of a sprained right knee. She hurt her knee and bruised her right hip against Phoenix. She is expected to be out several weeks. Leslie, who will turn 37 in July, is averaging 10.4 ppg. and 7.4 rpg. She will be retiring after the completion of the current campaign.

EIGHTEEN BASKETBALL GRANTS AWARDED BY THE NCAA
The NCAA has given out monetary grants to 18 Division I schools or conferences for the 2009-10 season. A total of 75 member schools and conferences submitted proposals for this grant program that was initiated to increase awareness, exposure, and increase attendance of women's basketball. The recipients are Auburn; Big South Conference; Cornell; East Tennessee State; Eastern Michigan; Iowa State; Patriot League; San Diego State; UCLA; California, Riverside; California, Santa Barbara; Hartford; Kansas; Miami (FL); North Carolina; South Carolina, Columbia; West Coast Conference; and Western Athletic Conference.

DETROIT'S PIERSON GONE FOR THE SEASON
Another casualty of the 2009 WNBA season is Detroit forward Plenette Pierson, who had successful shoulder surgery. Pierson was injured in the first quarter of the WNBA opener against Los Angeles on June 6. Pierson, a member of the 2006 and 2008 championship Shock teams, has averaged 8.7 ppg. and 1.2 apg. in 196 career games since 2003. She won the 2007 WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year award.

APPEL GOES UNDER THE KNIFE--AGAIN
Stanford All-America forward/center Jayne Appel has undergone left knee surgery for the second time in less than a year. The Pac-10 Player of the Year had an arthroscopic procedure to repair the meniscus in her left knee that prevented her from trying out for the World University Games. Appel averaged 16.1 ppg. and 9.2 rpg. last season in leading the Cardinal to back-to-back Final Four appearances.

FORMER RICE PLAYER JOINS HER COACH AT CLEMSON
Marla Brumfield, who excelled has a player at Rice under coach Cristy McKinney, is the new assistant coach at Clemson, now coached by McKinney. Brumfield played for McKinney at Rice from 1997-2000, helping the Owls to a pair of WNITs and an NCAA tournament appearance. She was the first WAC player to be drafted by the WNBA. She also spent two seasons at Rice as an assistant coach.

NO MORE ROYALTY AT RUTGERS
Epiphanny Prince is skipping her senior year at Rutgers to play basketball professionally in Europe. Prince averaged more than 19.0 ppg. last season as a junior and received All-America third-team recognition. She will be eligible for the WNBA draft in 2010. To play in the WNBA, a player must either turn 22 during the year they are drafted, graduate from college or see their class matriculate during the three-month period following the draft. Or the player must be out of high school for four years. Prince isn't the first woman to leave school early to play in Europe. Schuye LaRue left Virginia after her sophomore year in 2001 to play abroad. She was selected in the second round of the 2003 WNBA draft by Los Angeles.

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