ATLANTA (February 5, 2013) – The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced today the participants for the 2013 WBCA High School All-America Game presented by NIKE. The nation’s top 20 high school senior girls’ basketball players have been selected to compete in the annual game.

The 22^nd annual High School All-America Game, which is held as part of the WBCA National Convention, will be played Saturday, April 6, 2013, at the New Orleans Arena, site of the 2013 NCAA® Women’s Final Four®.  Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. CT.  For the fourth consecutive year, the game will be played on the official NCAA Women’s Final Four court. The 20 players will be divided into two 10-player teams for the game, which will be played according to NCAA rules. 

“The 20 members of this year’s High School All-America Team have been great leaders for their teams and for the game of girls’ and women’s basketball as it continues to grow,” said WBCA CEO Beth Bass.  “I am excited to see how these young women perform this year in New Orleans at the WBCA High School All-America Game presented by NIKE.”

Here are the 20 players selected to participate in the 2013 WBCA High School All-America Game presented by NIKE:

The inaugural WBCA High School All-America Game was played April 17, 1992, at Oman Arena in Jackson, Tenn.  The 2013 class of WBCA High School All-Americans joins a long list of well-known past participants including Tamika Catchings, Chamique Holdsclaw, Katie Smith, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Alana Beard, Maya Moore and Brittney Griner.

Any graduating senior can be nominated for the WBCA High School All-America Team by a high school or AAU coach who is an active WBCA member. College coaches are not eligible to nominate a player for consideration.  The 20-player All-America team and a 20-player honorable mention team are selected from the nominees by a selection committee composed of WBCA-member girls’ high school basketball coaches who represent nine geographical districts across the country.

"The WBCA High School All-American Selection Committee congratulates the 20 players who will represent our organization during the NCAA Women’s Final Four Super Saturday festivities in New Orleans," said Kernersville (N.C.) Bishop Mcguinness High School head coach Brian Robinson, who chairs the WBCA All-America Selection Committee.  “As chair of the committee, I am proud of the time and work that was given to selecting this team. Obviously, it is a tough and sometimes painstaking process, but in the end, I do think the committee did a wonderful job.  We are positive these girls will represent the WBCA, and the future of women's college basketball, tremendously in April."

The 2013 selection committee is also composed of Stacy Bilodeau, Walpole High School (Mass.); Eric Smith, Cicero-North Syracuse High School (N.Y.); Jody Patrick, Flint Hill School (Va.); Tony Smith, Bolingbrook High School (Ill.); Kelly Flynn, South Sioux City High School (Neb.); Teri Morrison, Carroll Senior High School (Texas); Carl Mattei, Regis Jesuit High School (Colo.); Kevin Kiernan, Mater Dei High School (Calif.); Angie Hembree, Norcross High School (Ga.); and Gary Glasscock, Metro High School (Mo.) who is past chair.  WBCA Manager of Event, Awards & Office Administration Daniella Trujillo is staff liaison to the committee.

Here are the 20 players receiving 2013 WBCA High School All-America honorable mention:

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About Nike:

NIKE, Inc., based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world's leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly-owned NIKE, Inc. subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories and Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories. For more information visit www.nikeinc.com.

About the WBCA:

Founded in 1981, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association promotes women’s basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game as a sport for women and girls. For more information on the WBCA, please visit wbca.org.

Tags: WBCA, WBCA High School All-America Game