Great Britain coach Damian Jennings has gone for a blend of youth and experience in his final 12-strong squad for EuroBasket Women after making the final three cuts from his line-up.
It sees Ella Clark emulate her elder brother Dan by featuring for GB at a major tournament while Georgia Jones, whose mother played for England, also earn her place after six weeks of preparation.
However it sees veteran Roz Mason miss out on what will likely be her last chance to play in a major tournament, with young prospects Renee Busch and Kristie Sheils also omitted from a group that includes nine returnees from the 2012 Olympic side.
Jennings has chosen (Ville Vuorinen/BB)
“I would like to firstly thank Roz, Kristie and Renee for making this team better,” said Jennings.
“Their de-selection was a very tough decision and all three players represented themselves incredibly well.
“Although Roz may be coming closer to her final basketball years, Kristie and Renee represent a crop of players coming through from our under-20’s and Futures programmes and I have no doubt both will be back to cement a place in next year’s senior GB team.
“It is exciting to now finish our last few practices with the final 12 players before travelling to France on Wednesday.
“The spirit of this group has been excellent since day one and I have no doubt the players are looking to representing Great Britain to the best of their ability this summer.â€
GB open up the first round of EuroBasket against Serbia on Saturday in Trelaze.
Squad: Dominique Allen (Bologna), Rose Anderson (Rezé), Kim Butler (Cesis), Ella Clark (Long Beach State University), Stef Collins (Cardiff Archers), Stephanie Gandy (Sheffield Hatters), Chantelle Handy (Mersin), Georgia Jones (Cluj Napoca), Jo Leedham (Bourges), Azania Stewart (Pecsi), Lauren Thomas-Johnson (Sheffield Hatters), Rachael Vanderwal (Limerick)
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