Rutgers' Carson, Vaughn Rejoin USA Basketball
Jul 25 | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, NJ - Rutgers women's basketball team members Essence Carson (Paterson, NJ) and Kia Vaughn (Bronx, NY), both finalists for the USA Basketball Under-20 National Team, will attempt to earn a roster spot for the upcoming FIBA Americas U20 Championship when USA Basketball reconvenes its training session July 28 - Aug. 5 in Costa Mesa, CA.
Eighteen finalists were named for the team following a trials session this May in Colorado Springs. That group, now numbering 17 due to an injury to one of the finalists, will gather in Costa Mesa for nine days, during which time the final 12-member roster will be announced. The Americas U20 Championship will be conducted Aug. 8-12 in Mexico City.
Featuring eight teams from North, South and Central America, as well as the Caribbean, the top three teams at this summer's Americas Championship will qualify for the 2007 FIBA U21 World Championship that will be held next year in Guatemala.
Carson helped lead Team USA to the gold medal at the 2005 Under-19 World Championship June 14-24 in Tunis, Tunisia. A starter in all eight games for the Americans, the 6-0 guard averaged 5.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.4 steals per contest, shooting 51.3 (20-39) percent from the floor. Carson helped Team USA qualify for the World Championship as a part of the gold-medal 2004 Women's Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament Team that played in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, averaging 8.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per contest. Carson also helped lead the East Team to the gold at the 2003 Developmental Festival with 5.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. She posted 8.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest as a Rutgers sophomore this past season, was selected as the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team. Carson was granted a medical waiver and did not attend the trials session in Colorado Springs.
Vaughn played for the East Team at the 2004 Developmental Festival, averaging 7.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while ranking second among all players in blocked shots (2.2 bpg). The 6-4 center posted 6.3 points to go along with team bests of 7.0 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots per game as a rookie Scarlet Knight this past season.
No. 9/9 Rutgers posted a 27-5 overall record last season, advancing to the regional semifinals of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. The Scarlet Knights recorded a perfect 16-0 mark in BIG EAST Conference regular-season play to win their second straight outright BIG EAST regular-season crown.
