Before Jacinta Beckley (Wellington, New Zealand) returns to the United States for her sophomore year with the Seattle University women’s basketball team, she has the opportunity to play for the New Zealand national team, as she was one of 14 players chosen for a training camp that took place this week to prepare for several summer competitions.
In what New Zealand head coach Kennedy Kereama characterized as a tough decision, Beckley was not selected for the 12-person roster that will represent the country at the William Jones Cup in Taiwan next week. However, Beckley will rejoin the team for a three-game series against Japan August 5-9, with the opportunity to earn a spot on the squad that will face Australia in the FIBA Oceania Series August 15 and 17 for a berth in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
"Jacinta did nothing wrong in camp this week, but we could only take 12 players to Taiwan. She will join us in Christchurch for the three game series against Japan,” said Kereama. “She has the opportunity now to return home, freshen up, work on one or two aspects of her game that the coaching staff have highlighted and then return and put pressure on the incumbents."
"We are extremely proud of Jacinta and the wonderful opportunity she has training with the New Zealand national team," added Seattle U head women’s basketball coach Joan Bonvicini.
Beckley is one of 10 returning letterwinners from last year’s Seattle University squad that advanced to the semifinals of the WAC Tournament for the third straight year and took eventual champion New Mexico State into overtime.