Harding to seek U.S. squad spot

Goestenkors issues invitation to tryout

RALEIGH -- On Friday, Duke coach Gail Goestenkors pulled senior guard Lindsay Harding into her office for a little chat.

Her question surprised Harding: Would she be interested in playing for USA Basketball this summer?

"It was the first I had heard about it so I was like, 'For real?' " Harding said after the Blue Devils beat Temple 62-52 in the second round of the NCAA Women's Tournament on Tuesday.

"I was so excited," Harding said after scoring 18 points with four assists and six turnovers.

Harding, the 2007 ACC Player of the Year from Houston, will be traveling to Rome to try out for the U.S. women's national team April 7-19.

The 22 players attending that camp and playing exhibition games in Italy will be pared down into a 12-person squad that will compete at the FIBA Americas Championship from Sept. 25-29 in Valdivia, Chile.

The U.S. team must win the FIBA event in Chile to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. If not, the U.S. will have to qualify in another tournament in the spring of 2008.

WNBA coach Anne Donovan will coach the U.S. squad with Goestenkors and Temple coach Dawn Staley joining WNBA coach Mike Thibault as her assistants.

PREGAME GOOD WISHES: After guiding the Blue Devils to within three points of the 2006 NCAA title, Duke's Gail Goestenkors has the top-seeded team in the 2007 NCAA Tournament.

You would think Goestenkors wouldn't have time for pleasantries as she tries to lead the Blue Devils back to the Final Four.

But there she was on Tuesday, on her way to the postgame interview session after her team beat Temple in a second-round game, stopping for a group hug and a quick "hello, good luck" exchange with N.C. State head coach Kay Yow and State associate head coach Stephanie Glance as they took the court to guide the Wolfpack women in their own second-round game against Baylor.

BALES OK WITH HER OFF NIGHT: Duke senior center Allison Bales had four points and six rebounds against Temple on Tuesday night. That didn't come close to matching her 22-point performance in a second-round win over Southern California in 2006.

"Tonight was not my night," she said. "I think I'll be ready to help my team more [in the next game]. This game last year I did play very well, and it was my game. But that's the good thing about this team. We have so many different options."

CRAMPS DON'T STOP KEY: N.C. State guard Ashley Key was angry and in pain when team trainers carried her off the RBC Center court with 3:28 left in overtime against Baylor.

Key, who said she was working for "all the hustle points we could get," had sprinted after a loose ball when she fell clutching her right calf and writhing in pain from a bad cramp.

"I was kind of getting upset because they wouldn't let me walk," Key said about being carried off.

She drank some electrolytes in the locker room and was back on the court with 1:33 left in OT. With 22 seconds left, she hit two free throws to help ice the 78-72 victory.