Raven to play in WBCA High School All-America Game
ATLANTA -- University of Texas women's basketball signee Brittainey Raven is one of the nation's top 20 girls' basketball players selected to participate in the 15th annual WBCA High School All-America Game presented by Nike. The team was announced Wednesday by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), and the game will take place during the NCAA Women's Final Four in Boston. Raven, a 6-0 guard from Fort Worth Texas, is a high school All-American and ranked as one of the nation's top three high school players, She currently stars for North Crowley High School with her 27.2 ppg average. North Crowley (26-7) is playing in the Texas state high school playoffs, and faces El Paso Americas (25-4) in the area round of the playoffs on Feb. 17. The players who have been chosen for the 2006 WBCA All-America Game will be divided into two teams of ten players. The college-style regulation game is scheduled for Saturday, April 1, at Matthews Arena on Northeastern University's campus in Boston, Mass. The game is scheduled to tip-off during the "WBCA Night of All-Stars" doubleheader event at 4:30 p.m. (ET) followed by the WBCA All-Star Challenge, which will feature 20 of the top senior collegiate players in the nation who are not playing in the NCAA® Women's Final Four®. This highly-anticipated event is part of the 25th Annual WBCA National Convention, which takes place at the site of the NCAA Women's Final Four. Raven is the seventh Texas Longhorn signee to be named to this elite Nike All-America team in the last four years. She follows guard Erika Arriaran and forward Earnesia Williams, both on last year's team; guard Erneisha Bailey (2004), forward Tiffany Jackson and former Longhorn post Kalee Carey (2003); and point guard Nina Norman (2002). Both Arriaran and Jackson earned State Farm/WBCA National High School Player of the Years honors - Arriaran last year and Jackson in 2003. Additionally, Texas signee and top 10 national recruit 6-1 forward Vantranique (Niqky) Hughes from Waxahachie, Texas and Waxahachie HS, was named a WBCA Honorable Mention All-American. "The WBCA High School All-America Game Selection Committee has done a great job assembling twenty of the best high school players in the country," said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. "The WBCA is honored to be hosting the High School All-America Game presented by Nike, continuing to showcase the future of women's basketball." "As in past years the selection of an All-America High School Basketball Team is extremely difficult," remarked Gary Glasscock, chair of the WBCA High School All-America Game Selection Committee. "Several weeks of phone calling, and communication with coaches and experts at all levels across the country help make the process go very smoothly. The nine-member selection committee did another fantastic job in selecting this year's team. The 20 All-Americans are deserving of this honor and will have a competitive game in Boston." The Nike Co-Captains are the WNBA Connecticut Sun's Lindsey Whalen and Detroit Shock's Swin Cash. Whalen is a two-time Kodak/WBCA All-American (2004 and 2005) and Cash is a 1998 High School All-America Team member as well as a Kodak/WBCA All-American (2002). Whalen and Cash will join the WBCA All-Star Challenge participants for an autograph session at 4:00 p.m. (ET). This marks the 15th year that the WBCA has sanctioned a girls' high school all-America team. The inaugural WBCA High School All-America Game presented by Nike was held April 17, 1992 at Oman Arena in Jackson, Tenn. The 1995 game, which marked the beginning of Nike's title sponsorship, was played in Altoona, Penn. The event moved east to Philadelphia in 1996 and south to Nashville in 1997. The game was then held in Hartford, Conn. from 1998 until 2002. The game made its debut as part of the "WBCA Night of All-Stars" in 2003. "Nike is honored to be involved with the WBCA High School All-America Game. This game recognizes the top high school players in the country and gives them a chance to come together and compete the weekend of the NCAA® Women's Final Four®," said Mary Thompson, Girls High School and Elite Youth Basketball Manager at Nike. "We recognize the importance of women in sports and would like to congratulate all the participants!" Fans can order tickets by visiting WBCA.org. Tickets for the "WBCA Night of All-Stars" start at $15.00 for general admission and $25.00 for reserved seating. For the full list of players selected to participate in the 2006 WBCA High School All-America Game presented by Nike, please download . Founded in 1981, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association promotes women's basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport of women's basketball and to foster and promote the development of the game of basketball as an amateur sport for women and girls.
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