Cunane, Brown-Turner Invited to USA Basketball Women's AmeriCup Team Trials

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – NC State women's basketball junior Elissa Cunane and sophomore Jakia Brown-Turner have accepted invitations to attend the 2021 USA Basketball Women's AmeriCup Team trials.

Cunane and Brown-Turner are two of 20 of the nation's top collegiate athletes who were invited to attend the trials from April 18-21 on South Carolina's campus. Out of the group, 12 players will be selected to represent Team USA in the 2021 AmeriCup, held June 11-19 in Puerto Rico.

The invitations come after incredibly successful 2020-21 campaigns by both players and by the Wolfpack women's basketball squad as a whole.

Cunane (Second Team) and Brown-Turner (Honorable Mention) were both named All-Americans by the Associated Press and were Consensus First Team All-ACC selections. They helped lead NC State to its second-straight ACC Tournament title and its third-straight NCAA Sweet 16 berth.

A native of Summerfield, N.C., Cunane averaged a team-leading 16.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 53.3 percent shooting this past season. She scored in double figures in all but one game, including six 20+ point outings and seven double-doubles. She was named ACC Tournament MVP and garnered All-America honors from multiple outlets, including First Team status from ESPN. In the season opener, she surpassed 1,000 career points after already reaching 500 career rebounds near the end of the 2019-20 season. Through three years of her Wolfpack career, Cunane averages 15.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 54.4 percent (466-of-857) from the field.

Brown-Turner made the start in all 25 games for the Wolfpack in 2020-21 after starting the most outings by a freshman in the Wes Moore era in the season prior. She ended the year averaging 13.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Her 1.6 made three pointers per game led the team, as she compiled a 37.0 percent clip from downtown. Brown-Turner scored in double figures in 20 games, including the first 13 in a row, and notched the first 20+ point outing of her career on Dec. 17 on her way to posting four such games on the season. On her career, she averages 11.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting a combined 43.3 percent (244-of-564) from the field and 36.9 percent (83-of-225) from three-point range.

The full USA Basketball Women's AmeriCup Team trials roster is below. Dawn Staley (South Carolina) will serve as head coach of the team, and she will be assisted by Adia Barnes (Arizona) and Jennifer Rizzotti (USA National Team).

Grace Berger, G, Indiana
Aliyah Boston, F, South Carolina
Jakia Brown-Turner, W, NC State
Rae Burrell, G/F, Tennessee
Veronica Burton, G, Northwestern
Zia Cooke, G, South Carolina
Elissa Cunane, C, NC State
Destanni Henderson, G, South Carolina
Naz Hillmon, F, Michigan
Rhyne Howard, G, Kentucky
Ashley Joens, G/F, Iowa State
Haley Jones, G, Stanford
Elizabeth Kitley, C, Virginia Tech
Diamond Miller, G, Maryland
Ashley Owusu, G, Maryland
Khayla Pointer, G, Louisiana State
Sedona Prince, F, Oregon
NaLyssa Smith, G, Baylor
Jenna Staiti, F, Georgia
Hailey Van Lith, G, Louisville