Carson, USA Upend Australia
Jun 10 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, NJ - Rutgers' Essence Carson (Paterson, NJ) and the USA Basketball Junior National Team put together a late run to defeat Australia 82-74 in the second round of the International Sports Invitational June 9 at San Diego State University.
Carson, a 6-0 guard, had an assist and a steal in 12 minutes of action off the bench. Team USA led by just two points (74-72) with 3:06 remaining, but the Americans put together an 8-0 run to seal the victory.
The U.S., an 89-69 winner against Russia June 8, will face China Friday, June 10. The bronze- and gold-medal games will be conducted Saturday, June 11.
The 15 Junior National Team finalists are competing for 12 spots on the Under-19 World Championship roster. USA Basketball will hold additional training sessions June 28 - July 2 in Colorado Springs, CO, July 2-6 in Washington, DC, July 7-10 in Hungary and July 11-14 in Tunisia. The 2005 FIBA Women's U-19 World Championship will be conducted July 15-24 in Hammamet and Tunis, Tunisia. To be eligible for the 2005 team, an athlete must have been born on or after Jan. 1, 1986.
Carson started 23 of 35 games as a freshman for Rutgers, ranking fifth for the Scarlet Knights in scoring (6.6 ppg) and second in rebounding (5.5 rpg). A member of the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) All-Second Team, she was named the BIG EAST Conference Freshman of the Week Jan. 10.
Carson helped lead the 2004 U.S. Women's Junior World Championship Qualifying Team to a gold medal in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, averaging 8.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. She also played on the 2003 USA Basketball Youth Development Festival East Team that won a gold medal.
