The tenure of the 1995-96 Women's National Team was truly a watershed period for the USA Basketball women's program. Suffering from a gold medal drought after bronze medal finishes at the '92 Olympics and '94 World Championship, the USA had seen its dominance in the international game wane.

Determined to recapture the OIympic gold on its home soil in Atlanta, USA Basketball undertook a revolutionary approach to training its Olympic team by structuring a long-term National Team program comprised of 52 games, including 21 games versus top NCAA programs and Athletes in Action, tours of Russia, Ukraine, China, Australia and Canada, as well as a six-game domestic exhibition schedule.

USA Basketball's strategy in developing the National Team was to take the United States' top Olympic prospects and have them play together as a cohesive unit for 10-months prior to Atlanta. With winning the Olympic gold the top priority, USA Basketball also adopted a secondary goal of elevating the popularity and visibility of women's basketball throughout the U.S.

After a seven day trial in Colorado Springs, the 11-member National Team was selected on May 25, 1995, and the following day departed for a series of scrimmages in Europe, then recessed for the summer.

Coached by Stanford's Tara VanDerveer, who took a year sabbatical, the team reassembled in Colorado Springs on October 2 for three weeks of training and on October 28 opened its 21-game tour with a victory over Athletes in Action.

The National Team's three-month NCAA Tour proved to be an educational experience for the USA squad, its college opponents as well as the American public. Winning by an average of 45.2 ppg., the National Team traveled to the campuses of the United States' top collegiate powers cruised past the overmatched college teams and enlightened fans by giving them a glimpse of women's hoops on the professional level. The National Team itself used the tour to evolve into a cohesive unit, developing offenses and defenses. Suffering from a pair of injuries during the tour, Dawn Staley was unable to compete after the fourth game and returned to action after the trip to Russia and Ukraine.

The USA's victory over Texas Tech on February 3 marked the successful conclusion of the barnstorming NCAA Tour. Lisa Leslie led the United States' scoring campaign throughout the 21 games at 17.1 ppg., while Katrina McClain grabbed a team-best 7.9 rpg. and Teresa Edwards dished out 5.9 apg.

The National Team entered into overseas competition January 15-23 when it earned three victories over Club Uralmash in Ekaterininburg, Russia, and four wins over Ukraine in Kiev, while boosting its record to 26-0. Ruthie Bolton finished as the USA's leading scorer versus Ukraine with 16.3 ppg. and McClain checked in as the USA's leading rebounder at 12.3 rpg.

The National Team hit the halfway point in its season with a grueling tournament in China that included eight games in as many days in three different cities. Playing March 8-15 against China, Cuba and South Korea, the USA earned a win every day of the tournament and improved its overall mark to 36-0. McClain led the USA charge, registering team highs of 17.1 ppg. and 16.3 ppg. Sheryl Swoopes and Carla McGhee did not travel to China due to injury, however Valeria Whiting, a 6-3 forward, competed with the team.

Upon return from China, the USA launched its six-game domestic exhibition schedule scoring wins over Ukraine in Rock Hill, S.C., a WBCA senior all-star team in Atlanta, and China in Philadelphia.

May 1996, saw the 39-0 National Team travel to Australia and claim another pre-Olympic tournament title, scoring seven wins down-under against the field of Australia, Cuba and Ukraine, increasing its record to a 46-0 despite losing McClain to a sprained ankle in the first game. Leslie claimed top scoring and rebounding honors at 16.3 ppg. and 9.1 rpg. Once again auditioning players for the Olympic Team, 6-5 center Sylvia Crawley competed with the team in Australia.

After its Australian tour, the National Team headed into the final phase of its pre-Olympic preparations with a victory over Cuba in Providence, R.I., then swept three games versus Canada, in which it scored wins over its North American rival in Calgary, Vancouver and Oakland, Calif. Venus Lacey, a 6-4 center who would later earn the final roster spot on the USA Olympic squad, played with the National Team during their games versus Cuba and Canada.

A one-point victory over Russia in Chicago on June 15 marked the USA squad's last game as the National Team and the following day all 11 members of the National Team along with Lacey were announced as members of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Women's Basketball Team. The team continued in its winning ways by defeating Italy 86-46 in a final pre-Olympic tune-up on July 13 in Indianapolis and then rolling to the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Atlanta July 21-August 4.

1995-96 USA BASKETBALL WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM CUMULATIVE STATISTICS