Rutgers' Carson, USA Split Games in Hungary
Jul 11 | Women's Basketball
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – Rutgers’ Essence Carson (Paterson, NJ) and the USA Basketball Junior National Team split a pair of games against the Hungarian Under-19 National Team July 9-10 in Budapest, Hungary. The Americans are overseas, making some final adjustments before playing at the FIBA Under-19 World Championship July 15-24 in Tunisia.
The U.S. defeated Hungary 82-42 July 9, but fell to the same Hungarian team 75-67 July 10. In the first game, Carson, a 6-0 guard, started and played 16 minutes, collecting four points, two rebounds and a pair of steals. In the second game, Carson played 20 minutes off the bench, notching four points and six rebounds.
The U-19 National Team has been training continuously since June 28, when the group reconvened in Colorado Springs, CO. The Americans also worked out in Washington, DC, July 3-6, and have been in Hungary since July 7. The Americans will next travel to Tunisia July 12, and will compete at the 2005 FIBA Women’s U-19 World Championship July 15-24 in Hammamet and Tunis. To be eligible for the 2005 team, an athlete must have been born on or after Jan. 1, 1986.
The Americans hosted the International Sports Invitational June 8-11 in San Diego, using the four games to whittle the 15 finalists for the U-19 World Championship team down to the final 12-member roster. Carson, a 6-0 guard, played in all four games and started twice, averaging 3.5 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.8 steals in 16.5 minutes per contest. She helped lead the U.S. to the gold medal at the International Sports Invitational, and earned one of the 12 coveted rosters spots for the USA Basketball U-19 World Championship Team.
Carson started 23 of 35 games as a freshman for Rutgers during the 2004-2005 season, 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.
