Pondexter Plays First Game with Team USA
Apr 08 | Women's Basketball
CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA - Rutgers fifth-year senior Cappie Pondexter (Chicago, IL) scored five points in nine minutes in her debut with the USA Basketball Senior National Team, as the U.S. defeated host Australia 83-63 at the Opals World Challenge April 8 in Cairns.
Pondexter, who was selected second overall by the Phoenix Mercury in the
2006 WNBA Draft April 5, arrived in Australia just hours before the
Americans’ game against the Aussies.
“It's hard (arriving just before the game), but it's more mental than
anything,” said Pondexter. “I think I prepared myself as I was coming over
mentally, to not think about being fatigued or anything, just to be ready to
help the team.”
The win against Australia improved the United States’ record at the Opals
World Challenge to 2-0. The Americans defeated China 85-77 April 7.
The 2006 Women’s Basketball News Service National Player of the Year,
Pondexter was named a finalist for all three major national
player-of-the-year awards (State Farm Wade Trophy, Naismith and Women’s
Wooden Award), the Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award and the Nancy
Lieberman Award (top point guard). She averaged 21.6 points per contest
(sixth nationally), adding 4.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game
this season. Named to the Kodak/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association
(WBCA) All-America First Team, the Associated Press All-America First Team,
the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-America Team, the
Women’s Wooden Award All-America Team, the Senior CLASS Award All-America
First Team, the Gballmag.com All-America First Team and the ESPN.com
All-America First Team, the WBCA National Player of the Month for January
was the unanimous choice as the BIG EAST Player of the Year, becoming the
first player in league history to be named to the All-BIG EAST First Team
four times during her career. The 5-9 guard was selected to the BIG EAST
All-Tournament Team for the fourth straight year (22.5 ppg), earned a spot
on the NCAA Tournament All-Cleveland Region Team (22.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.3
apg) and also received four BIG EAST Conference player-of-the-week awards
(Jan. 2, Jan. 16, Feb. 6, Feb. 13) and six berths on the BIG EAST Honor Roll
(Nov. 28, Dec. 5, Dec. 12, Jan. 9, Jan. 23, Jan. 30). Pondexter was a
frequent member of preseason honor lists this fall, earning first-team
All-America accolades from the Associated Press and Women’s Basketball News
Service, second-team All-America mentions from Gballmag.com, Lindy’s and
Athlon Sports, and a spot on the Street & Smith’s “Terrific 10” Preseason
All-America Team.
Pondexter helped lead No. 9/9 Rutgers to a 27-5 overall record, advancing to
the regional semifinals of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. The Scarlet Knights
posted a perfect 16-0 mark in BIG EAST Conference regular-season play to win
their second straight outright BIG EAST regular-season crown.
Pondexter was a member of five junior U.S. national teams, most recently
competing at the 2005 World University Games in Izmir, Turkey. A co-captain
for the Americans, she started four of the seven games, averaging 8.9
points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.4 steals and a team-best 3.3 assists per contest,
shooting 46.4 (26-56) percent from the field and 76.9 (10-13) percent from
the free-throw line to help lead the U.S. to a perfect 7-0 record and the
gold medal. She spent four straight summers (2000-2003) with the USA
Basketball program as a member of the U.S. 20-and-Under National Team,
leading the Americans to the gold medal at the 2003 FIBA World Championship
For Young Women in Sibenik, Croatia. A team co-captain and the starting
point guard, she averaged 5.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Pondexter won the gold medal at the 2002 World Championship For Young Women
Qualifying Tournament in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil, serving as the starting
point guard and a team co-captain and posting a tournament-best 6.5
assists-per-game average. Pondexter also tallied 8.8 points, 2.5 rebounds
and 2.5 steals per game and shot 51.9 (14-27) percent from the field and
62.5 (5-8) percent from three-point range. As a member of the 2001 U.S.
Junior National Team, she won a bronze medal at the FIBA World Junior
Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, and she also was a member of the
2000 U.S. Junior World Championship Qualifying Team and led them to a gold
medal in Mardelplata, Argentina.
