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Women's Basketball

Sykes invited to tryout for U19 national team for World Championship

Brittney Sykes will participate in the 2013 USA Basketball U19 World Championship Team Trials, USA Basketball announced on Tuesday.

Sykes will play with USA Basketball for the second summer in a row. She’ll compete with 33 other players for 12 roster spots. The tryout is from May 16-19 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Sykes, ESPNU’s No. 30 prospect in the Class of 2012, flourished in her freshman year at Syracuse. The 5-foot-9 Newark, N.J., native averaged 8.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game, fueling the Orange to a 24-8 record and its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2008.

She scored 20 points and snagged 10 rebounds in a win over Boise State and helped Syracuse knock off eventual national title runner-up Louisville by scoring 16 points and blocking two shots.

Her most impressive performance, though — one that earned her the top spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10 — came against St. John’s on Jan. 23. Sykes stole the ball from her former high school teammate Nadirah McKenith and banked in a desperation shot from beyond halfcourt as time expired, giving the Orange a stunning 60-57 win.



Sykes was named to the Big East All-Freshman team and was one of three freshmen to start the majority of Syracuse’s games, along with Brianna Butler and Cornelia Fondren.





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