Mitchell makes under-23 national team

Ohio State guard Kelsey Mitchell said in the days leading up to the tryout camp for the under-23 national women’s basketball team that she didn’t know what to expect, given her limited experience with the national team program.

On Friday, she learned she will add to that experience. USA Basketball announced that Mitchell, a 5-foot-8 senior guard, is one of 12 members of the U23 National Team that will represent the United States at the Four Nations Tournament in Tokyo from Aug. 12-15. The U.S. is scheduled to face Australia on Aug. 12, Canada on Aug. 13 and Japan on Aug. 15.

Mitchell, a two-time Big Ten player of the year in her first three seasons at Ohio State, scored 19 points in the gold-medal game of the tryout camp’s intrasquad competitions Friday morning in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Also making the final roster were Ariel Atkins (Texas), Monique Billings (UCLA), Kalani Brown (Baylor), Jordin Canada (UCLA), Asia Durr (Louisville), Sabrina Ionescu (Oregon), Brittney McPhee (Stanford), Jamie Nared (Tennessee), Arike Ogunbowale (Notre Dame), Mercedes Russell (Tennessee) and A’ja Wilson (South Carolina).

The U23 team is coached by Louisville’s Jeff Walz, with Michelle Clark-Heard of Western Kentucky and Courtney Banghart of Princeton serving as assistant coaches.

Ohio State guard Linnae Harper was one of 36 collegiate players to take part in the camp. She did not make the final 12-player roster but performed well in the intrasquad gold medal game. Playing against Mitchell’s team, she scored 15 points and added six assists and five rebounds.

The U23 national team is scheduled to practice twice Saturday and Sunday and once Monday in Colorado Springs before departing for Tokyo on Tuesday.