Hopkins star Paige Bueckers named to USA under-16 national team

Hopkins star Paige Bueckers survived the final cut and is one of the 12 players named to the United States under-16 women's basketball team that will play in the FIBA Americas championship that will be held next week in Argentina,

The roster had been cut to 18 over the weekend and, after two more days of practice, the final 12 players were named.

The top four teams in the Argentina tournament will qualify for the U17 World Cup in 2018.

The freshman guard helped lead Hopkins to the 2017 Class 4A title game where the Royals were defeated by Elk River, 64-60. Bueckers, who has played varsity since eighth grade, averaged 21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 4.2 steals, last season.

Bueckers, who also plays in the North Tartan AAU program, is one of two players from the Midwest on the team.

Here is the final roster.

Here is a column by Chip Scoggins about Bueckes attracting attention from colleges, as well as Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, when Bueckers was an eighth-grader playing on the Hopkins varsity,

There were 133 players in the first round of tryouts last week.