Zags go international

The Gonzaga women's basketball season doesn't start for another month, but two senior Bulldogs are already making news for their accomplishments. Tuesday, Kayla Standish and Katelan Redmon were both named to the 2011 USA Basketball Women's Pan American Games Team.

"I am really happy for them No. 1, just because I know how hard they have worked at their game," said Head Coach Kelly Graves. "What a great opportunity and an honor for them to be able to do something like this. They are very deserving, definitely. I am mainly just happy for them. It is nice that they have been recognized by people on that committee and USA basketball as being top players."

Standish and Redmon are the first Gonzaga women's basketball players to play internationally for the United States (Courtney Vandersloot is a now a member of the USA Basketball Women's National Team). Only 12 members were selected from around the nation, coming from nine conferences (Breanna Stewart is a high school senior). The West Coast Conference is the only conference to have two representatives.

Last season, Standish averaged 17.1 ppg, led the team with 8.7 rpg and became a force to be reckoned with in the paint with 59 blocks. Katelan Redmon, who averaged 16.1 ppg, dished out the second most assists on the team and, along with Standish, was named All-West Coast Conference.

  Graves talked withCarol Callan, president of USA women's basketball, who told him that Redmon and Standish were the type of players they were looking for.  

"She told me what they really liked about both (Standish and Redmon), obviously they each have those certain skills and other assets, but they like the fact that both were versatile, very versatile. They are able to guard a couple different positions and offensively play a couple positions. They can both post up and they have good games around the hoop, but they can play from the perimeter, as well. I think they like that and that's what they were looking for in a lot of their players," he said.

Standish and Redmon's team will play in preliminary round Group A, with Argentina, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The Pan American Games occurs every four years and the U.S. is the reigning champion from 2007.

The team will begin training camp on Oct. 15 in Houston and depart for the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Oct. 18. The competition tips off Oct. 21.