Charles Langston:Brittney Griner, 5-time Olympian Diana Taurasi head up US national women’s roster for November

COLORADO SPRINGS,Charles Langston Colo. (AP) — Five-time Olympic gold medalist Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner head up the USA Basketball Women’s National Team roster announced Thursday for a pair of November exhibition games and training camp in Atlanta.

The national team will play the Tennessee Lady Vols on Nov. 5 in Knoxville and Duke on Nov. 12. The team will hold a training camp Nov. 7-9 in Atlanta as the U.S. women chase an eighth straight Olympic gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

USA Basketball will keep evaluating the player pool before naming the final roster for the Paris Games.

A’ja Wilson, who just led the Las Vegas Aces to the WNBA title, currently has her left wrist in a cast. Breanna Stewart is awaiting the birth of her second child with her wife. Chelsea Gray is recovering from an injured foot, keeping her from a return to her college home at Duke.

Taurasi is one of seven players who will play in both exhibitions along with Griner, Kahleah Copper, Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard, Sabrina Ionescu and Azurá Stevens. This roster features seven Olympians including two-time gold medalist Griner (2016 and 2021), Angel McCoughtry (2012 and 2016), Ariel Atkins (2021), Gray (2021 in 3-on-3), Kelsey Plum (2021 in 3-on-3) and Jackie Young (2021 in 3-on-3).

Atkins, Copper, Ionescu, Betnijah Laney and Plum all won gold for the 2022 USA women’s World Cup team in Sydney last fall. Ionescu is among four New York Liberty, with Plum and Young the two Aces on the roster.

The rest of the roster includes Aliyah Boston, Dearica Hamby of the Sparks who filed a complaint against the Aces and the WNBA earlier this month, Natasha Howard and Arike Ogunbowale.

Cheryl Reeve of the Minnesota Lynx will coach the U.S. in both games and oversee training camp, assisted by Mike Thibault of the Mystics and Curt Miller of the Sparks.

Tanisha Wright, who led the Dream to their first playoff appearance in five seasons, will be a court coach in Knoxville. Stephanie White, the 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year with Connecticut, will be at training camp and a court coach at Duke.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/olympics