Hofstra's Evans named to U.S. hoops team

Hofstra women's basketball star Shante Evans has never stepped foot outside of the United States. Now, she is preparing to leave in style.

The junior forward has been named to the USA basketball women's team and will compete in the Pan American Games next month in Guadalajara, Mexico, the school and USA basketball announced Tuesday.

Evans becomes the university's first women's basketball player selected for international competition. "It will be like playing at the next level basically," the six-foot Evans said. "I get to play with some of the best players in the country."

Hofstra coach Krista Klburn-Steveskey informed Evans of her selection when the player was at home with her family in West Chester, Pa. "I said 'Are you guys on speakerphone? You made it!'" the coach said. "They all started screaming."

Evans, who led the Pride in scoring (18.4) and rebounding (11.0) last season, was a first-team All-CAA selection and made the Associated Press All-America team. She was the program's first player to reach 1,000 career points as a sophomore. Evans was nominated for the Pan Am games by Kilburn-Steveskey, who said, "When they see how amazing she is for her size and her speed, she's like a phenom in that respect."

Evans said the international experience will have a positive influence when she returns to Hofstra for the regular season. "Going there, playing with these players, playing against other countries is definitely going to help me when I get back," she said. "I'm going to be a different player."

Kilburn-Steveskey agreed. "Obviously the expectations are high," she said. "I've been pushing her in the off-season, talking to her a lot about her personal expectations because she is a junior now. I think 'Tay' is ready. It's going to be fun to see her growth and how far she can take us."

Evans joins April Sykes of Rutgers as the only players from metropolitan area schools to be selected. Other top players include Kevi Luper of Oral Roberts, who led the nation in scoring with a 23.7 average, and Gonzaga teammates Katelan Redmon and Kayla Standish. Breanna Stewart, a 6-7 high school senior from Syracuse who is committed to Connecticut, is the only non-college player on the roster.

The U.S. team, which won the gold medal at the 2007 games, will be coached by Ceal Barry, the former coach at Colorado.