Pac-12 women's basketball well represented at USA Basketball U19 World Cup Team trials

SAN FRANCISCO – Six Pac-12 women’s basketball players have accepted invitations the 2021 USA Basketball Women’s U19 World Cup Team trials, which will be held May 14-16 at Metro State University in Denver.

Current collegians Michelle Onyiah (CALIFORNIA), Te-Hina Paopao (OREGON), Talia von Oelhoffen (OREGON STATE) and Lauren Ware (ARIZONA) will be joined by incoming freshmen Brooke Demetre (STANFORD) and Greta Kampschroeder (OREGON STATE) at next weekend’s 27-person trials. The Pac-12’s six representatives trying out for the U19 World Cup Team are tied for the most among the nation’s conferences (ACC).

After helping the United States to U19 World Cup gold as an assistant coach in 2019, UCLA’s Cori Close is serving as the team’s head coach in 2021, her fourth USA Basketball coaching assignment and third for an international event.

Featuring U19 teams from 16 nations, the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup is scheduled for Aug. 7-15 in Debrecen, Hungary. FIBA held the draw to determine preliminary round groups on April 28, and the USA was drawn into Group A alongside Australia, Egypt and Italy.

Onyiah played in 17 games and started 11 as a freshman for the Golden Bears last season, averaging 8.9 points and 6.8 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game. She scored in double-figures eight times, including a career-high 16 against USC on Dec. 21, and had a pair of double-doubles.

One of only two freshmen voted to the 15-member All-Pac-12 team in 2021, Paopao averaged 10.2 points, 4.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game in her first season in Eugene. She started the first 19 games of the year before missing the final five due to injury and led the nation’s freshmen with a 2.40 assist-to-turnover ratio and was seventh in the country among first-year players in assists per game.

An early enrollee who joined the Beavers midway through the 2020-21 season, von Oelhoffen earned a Pac-12 All-Freshman honorable mention nod after appearing in only 13 games. She averaged 11.3 points on 44.0 percent shooting, including a 43.4 percent clip from deep, to go with 3.8 rebounds per game.

Ware was also a Pac-12 All-Freshman honorable mention selection in her debut season in Arizona after averaging 3.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in 16.2 minutes. The Wildcats’ third consecutive 20-win campaign featured the program’s first trip to the Final Four.

Demetre and Kampschroeder are two of nine high school seniors invited to the trials and have signed National Letters of Intent to join Stanford and Oregon State for the 2021-22 season. A five-star recruit ranked No. 11 in the class by espnW HoopGurlz, Demetre (Foothill Ranch, Calif./Mater Dei H.S.) averaged 12.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists and was named the John R. Wooden High School Player of the Year for the CIF-SS Open Division last year.

The 32nd player in the class according to espnW HoopGurlz, Kampschroeder (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North H.S.) finished her high school career with 1,735 points and a school-record 853 rebounds. A McDonald's All-American and Naismith All-America honorable mention selection, she averaged 17.8 points and 10 rebounds per game during her senior season.

Ranked as high as No. 5 in the AP poll last season, Close navigated a limited roster throughout the year to lead the Bruins to a 17-6 record and their fifth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2020-21. A veteran of USA Basketball, she was also an assistant for the USA squads that won gold at the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup and 2018 FIBA Americas U18 Championship, and was a court coach at the 2017 USA U23 National Team training camp.

The reigning FIBA U19 World Cup champion, USA women’s teams have won eight gold medals, one silver medal and one bronze medal while compiling an 86-13 overall record in U19 World Cup play since the event was launched in 1985. The USA has posted a 62-3 record and won seven of the past eight U19 golds since 2005.