Wildcat women’s basketball star Lindsey Pulliam will be one of the 12 collegiate players traveling to Peru this summer to represent the United States in the 2019 Pan-American Games, it was announced on Monday.
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After three days of trials from Friday to Sunday of this past weekend, the USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Team Committee pulled from a field of 35 players to form the team. Pulliam joined two fellow Big Ten players in making the cut: Kathleen Doyle of Iowa and Taylor Mikesell of Maryland.
The national team will be led by Michigan State coach Suzy Merchant, who watched Pulliam put up 18 points as the Wildcats upset her Spartans at Welsh-Ryan this past season. The sophomore, who averaged 16.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 34.2 minutes per game this season, will bring a scoring boost to Team USA: she has led Northwestern in scoring in each of her first two years, already reaching 1,000 career points.
The Maryland native has already shown a propensity for coming up big in the clutch. While sitting several crucial shots, including the eventual game-winner against West Virginia, to lead the Wildcats to the WNIT Championship last season, Pulliam averaged 18.3 points and 5.7 assists per game.
Team USA will attempt to redeem a 2015 silver medal in these Pan-Am games when they travel to Lima from August 6-10. They will go up against hosts Peru, along with Canada, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and, in their first qualifications for the women’s tournament, Paraguay and the Virgin Islands.
While many of her teammates have previous experience in various tournaments at various age levels with USA Basketball, this will be Pulliam’s first time representing her country. The sharpshooter is not the most well-known of the group (Mikesell, Stanford’s Kiana Williams, and Texas A&M star Chennedy Carter are among those who have a claim), but will have a chance to make a significant impact all the same.
In other women’s basketball news, Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah, who was signed to a training camp contract with the Chicago Sky, has been cut. Northwestern’s career leader in rebounds will likely look to continue her career overseas if she cannot catch on with another team.