Ohio State then-junior guard Kelsey Mitchell drives to the basket and attempts a layup against Purdue in the Big Ten tournament semifinal in Indianapolis on March 4. Credit: Ashley Nelson | Station Manager
Ohio State senior guard Kelsey Mitchell will be turning in her scarlet and gray for red, white and blue for a week later this month as she was selected to the USA Basketball Women’s Under-23 National Team Friday afternoon.
Mitchell will compete in the Four Nations Tournament – including the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan – which takes place Aug. 12-15.
Mitchell and 11 other players were selected from a group of 36 athletes, including her college teammate redshirt senior guard Linnae Harper who did not make the team. The star Ohio State guard is the only player from her conference to be named to the team.
The United States will open the tournament with a matchup against Australia Aug. 12 at 6:30 p.m. The next day, Mitchell’s team will face off against Canada at 4:30 p.m. before concluding the tournament with a game against Japan on Aug. 15 at 6:30 p.m.
The 5-foot-8 guard was named the Big Ten player of the year in 2015 and 2017. The Associated Press honored her as a first-team All-American in 2016 and a second-team All-American in 2015 and 2017. Last year, she led the Big Ten with 22.6 points per game and led the team with 137 assists.
The Ohio State women’s basketball team opens the season Nov. 10 against Stanford as part of the Countdown to Columbus event. Two days later, the Buckeyes will face off against perennial powerhouse Connecticut. The 2018 women’s basketball Final Four will be held in Columbus in April.
