WACO, TX (KXXV) -
Three Baylor women’s basketball players have been invited to try out for U23 National Teams. Sophomore All-American Kalani Brown and freshman Natalie Chou received tryout invitations for Team USA, while junior Kristy Wallace was invited to try out for Australia.
Players who make the 12-person rosters will take part in the inaugural 2017 U23 Four Nations Tournament for college-aged women this summer in Tokyo, Japan. The round-robin tournament, which will include teams representing the USA, Australia, Canada and Japan, is scheduled for August 12-15.
The U23 Four Nations Tournament was established to provide meaningful competition and development opportunities and to help further development of each national team’s pipeline.
Brown had her most successful season as a Lady Bear, earning WBCA All-American and Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American accolades. She led the team in scoring (15.4), field goal percentage (.679), rebounding (8.2) and shot blocking (2.0), en route to unanimous first team All-Big 12 recognition. Brown was also named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team.
Brown played for Team USA on the 2013 U16 National Team and 2014 U16 National Team, winning a gold medal at the 2014 FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Cancun, Mexico.
Chou appeared in all 37 games for Baylor as a freshman, averaging 4.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. She was named Big 12 Freshman of the Week on Dec. 12. In high school, Chou was named a McDonald’s and WBCA All-American and was a Morgan Wootten Player of the Year finalist.
Chou won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2014 FIBA U18 World Championship and a silver medal at the 2015 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Championship.
Wallace started all 37 games for the Lady Bears this season, pacing the squad in assists with 208. She averaged 7.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.6 assists per contest. Wallace was named to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team and the Gulf Coast Showcase All-Tournament Team. She also won most valuable player recognition at the Gulf Coast Showcase.
Wallace won a bronze medal with Australia’s 2015 U19 World Championship team in Chekhov, Russia. She started for the Gems, helping the team to a 6-1 record.
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