Sonja Henning to be inducted into Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame

Stanford fans remember Sonja Henning as an outstanding point guard. She graduated from Stanford 19 years ago, but still holds all the records for assists -- career (757), single-season (237), and average per game (7.4).

Henning will receive her latest honor on Saturday when she will be inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Peter Jackel (RacineSportsZone) writes of Henning's achievements in the past 25 years since she captivated crowds at Horlick High School in Wisconsin with her unique basketball skills.

"Henning is someone who has lived her life ... maximizing her prodigious potential and refusing to concede that limitations exist."

"For me, my drive was always to do my best," Henning said. Read more...

Preliminary round of FIBA World Championship

As was anticipated, the USA team has done very well in the preliminary round of the 2010 FIBA World Championship. They've defeated Greece 99-73, Senegal 108-52 and France 81-60.

So they advance to the second round, where they'll play tougher games next week against Canada, Belarus and Australia.

In anticipation of upcoming games against Lauren Jackson, Penny Taylor, Elizabeth Cambage and the rest of the Australian team, the USA team is loaded with back court talent — power forwards Swin Cash, Asjha Jones and Candice Dupree; centers Sylvia Fowles, Tina Charles and Jayne.

Jayne, as the rookie of that group, has had the least playing time. But she did play in each of the three preliminary games and contributed to the victories:

• Greece: 3 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound.
• Senegal: 11 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
• France: 4 minutes, 1 rebound

Jayne makes the team!

Jayne is one of the 12 international veterans who will represent the U.S.A. at the 2010 FIBA World Championship that will be held Sept. 23 - Oct. 3 in the Czech Republic!

This is a great achievement for Jayne. She is just the third Stanford alumna to represent the United States at the FIBA World Championship, joining Jennifer Azzi (1990, '94, '98) and Sonja Henning (1990).

Read more in:

• The USA Basketball announcement
• A report from the Associated Press
• A story in the Stanford Daily

Jayne makes the penultimate cut

USA Basketball announced today:

Following a two-week training camp that included four exhibition games, USA Basketball today announced the 14 finalists who remain in contention for a spot on the 2010 USA Women’s World Championship Team. The 2010 FIBA World Championship begins Sept. 23 in the Czech Republic, and the U.S. must have its final 12-member roster submitted to FIBA on Sept. 22.

Jayne is one of the 14!

Read more...

Jayne doing a great job for USA Basketball

Jayne went a long way towards securing a spot on the USA Basketball Women's World Championship Team with her performance in two friendly games last weekend.

On Friday, the USA defeated Australia, the current world champion, 89-56. Jayne did a stellar job in helping to defend against Australia's 6'8" Elizabeth Gambage (pictured on the right). Jayne scored seven points and had the game-high eight rebounds.

Coach Geno Auriemma said of Jayne's defense, "Jayne just did a really good job of being there. Jayne’s 6-5, she puts her hands up, she’s not 6-9, but it was … she had eight rebounds in 11 minutes. Jayne was exactly what we needed her to be. To be honest with you, that’s the best she’s looked in the five days we’ve been together. Maybe she finally had someone big enough, we’ve got to get some bigger practice players, I don’t know. We’re just not used to guarding anybody who’s 6-9. I was really impressed with Jayne. I thought she did a great, great job."

Here is USA Basketball's report of the game against Australia, with links to quotes, the box score and a photo gallery.

On Sunday, the USA defeated Spain, the #5 ranked women's team in the world, 85-69. Jayne played a lesser role in this game. She did not score, but contributed three rebounds, two assists and a block.

Tina Charles was the top scorer (17) and rebounder (10) against Spain. When asked about playing against Australis's Elizabeth Gabbage in the prior game, she replied, "I think Jayne did the best out of all of us post players, the way she guarded her and just controlled her and always had held her ground, and I get to learn from Jayne when I'm on the bench."

Here is USA Basketball's report of the game against Spain, with links to quotes, the box score and a photo gallery.

The USA World Championship team finalists will next travel to Spain to play Australia and either Spain or Senegal in friendly games on Sept. 17 and 18.

Then they will travel to Czechoslovakia for the 2010 FIBA World Championship that will be held Sept. 23 - Oct. 3. The gold medal winner earns a berth to the 2012 Olympic Games.

The official, 12-member 2010 USA Women's World Championship Team will be selected from the 18 finalists sometime before Sept. 21.

Candice feels great

Not as great as in this photo that accompanied an article in the Lynx News, but she's getting there.

Candice talks about her injury, her rehab, her plans for the next six months and her appearance as a guest at Kobe Bryant's skills academy. Read more...

10 Questions with Jennifer Azzi

Michelle Smith (Left Coast Hoops) asks Jennifer Azzi how the Lady Dons are shaping up and what her first summer as a basketball coach has been like in these 10 questions.

No Pain Jayne

For the first time since February, Jayne is fully healthy and going full-tilt in practice with USA Basketball. How does that feel to her? "it's just fun!" she says. Read more...

Jayne begins training with USA Basketball

Jayne and eight other of the nation's best basketball players began training for the USA Women’s World Championship Team on Saturday afternoon. There are 18 players in the running for the 12 spots on the team. The other nine contenders were not present due to WNBA commitments, injuries and other issues.

The team will compete in the FIBA World Championship for Women from September 23 to October 3 in Czechoslovakia. Before that, they will play friendly games against Australia (the current world champion) and Spain (ranked #5). The USA team members may not be selected until as late as September 21. Read more...

Here are some photos of Jayne hard at work at the training session.

Michelle joins the Utes

Michelle, who is working on her master's degree at the University of Utah, has received an NCAA waiver that allows her to play there this coming season as a redshirt senior.

Here's a report from the Deseret News.