Bradley Central basketball standout Rhyne Howard (right with ball) the 2018 TSSAA Miss Basketball in Class 3A and the Bearettes' No. 3 all-time scorer with 2,449 points, has been selected to the 2018 USA U-18 Women's Basketball team.
photo by Dennis Norwood/File
COLORODO SPRINGS, Colo. – Bradley Central’s Rhyne Howard, Tennessee’s Class 3A Miss Basketball this past season, has been selected to the 2018 USA U-18 Women’s Basketball team.
Howard, a four-year starter with the Bearettes, was the key cog in Bradley’s drive to a 33-1 record and berth in the 2018 TSSAA state basketball tournament. The Bearettes, who won District 3-3A, Region 3-3A titles and beat Blackman in the sectional, beat Daniel Boone and lost to Houston in the state tourney in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
The 6-foot-1 Howard finished with 2,499 career points, third on Bradley’s all-time scoring list behind Data Caldwell (3,011) and Liz Hannah (2,693).
A University of Kentucky signee, Howard is the lone player from Tennessee to make the prestigious squad. Twelve girls made the roster from 35 that reported to the trial tryouts.
The team will compete in the FIBA Americas U-18 Championship for Women with the top four teams qualifying for the 2019 FIBA U-19 World Cup. The eight teams competing in the championship will include the United States, Canada, Argentina, Chile, Columbia, El Salvador, Mexico, and Puerto Rico who all earned automatic berths after their respective U-17 championships.
The complete roster with name, high school, town and (college):
Rhyne Howard, Bradley Central High School, Cleveland, Tenn. (Kentucky); Dedona Prince, Liberty Hill, Liberty Hill, Texas (Texas); Nazarah Hillmon-Baker, Gilmour Academy, Cleveland, Ohio (Michigan); Jordan Nixson, Mary Louis Academy, New York, N.Y. (Notre Dame); Queen Egbo, Travis High School,, Houston, Texas (Baylor); Christyn Williams, Central Arkansas Christian School, Little Rock, Ark. (Connecticut); Anaya Peoples, Schlarman High School, Danville, Ill. (Notre Dame); NaLyssa Smith, East Central High School, Converse, Texas (Baylor); Jenna Brown, The Lovett School, Smyrna, Ga. (Stanford); Aijha Blackwell, Whitfield School, Berkeley, Mo. (unsigned); Abby Prohaska, Lakota West High School, Liberty Township, Ohio (Notre Dame) and Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Winder Barrow High School, Winder, Ga. (Connecticut).
Head coach: Jeff Walz, University of Louisville; Assistant: Natasha Adair, University of Delaware; Cori Close, UCLA
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)