Former Wesleyan star Nikki Luckhurst, class of 2004, has accepted and invitation to play for the British national team during an upcoming eight-game tour of Europe.  The 16-member squad is beginning preparations for the 2012 Olympics, to be held in London.  Luckhurst had just completed her senior season at Tulane when she received the invitiation.  She ended her career as the university's second all-time leader in 3-pointers as well as seventh all-time in Conference USA history with 193.  Luckhurst is elligible to represent Great Britain by virtue of her dual citizenship in the United States and Great Britian.  Her father Mick is a British citizen.   Regardless of whether she sticks with the national team, Luckhurst hopes to play overseas after the home-and-home schedule against Ukraine, Lithuania, Germany and Israel, which ends Sept. 13.  I'm probably going to be playing in Spain or Australia or somewhere overseas," she said. "I'm going to talk to the girls on the team and the coaches and try to figure out the best place for me. They told me they can get me an agent over there.  That's the plan right now," said Luckhurst, who led Wesleyan to state titles in 2002 and 2004. "As long as my body can hold up, I'd love to play basketball for a living."  Luckhurst, Wesleyan's all-time leading scorer with 2,393 career points, said the team will train and play its home games at the Welsh Institute of Sport in Cardiff, Wales.  She's been e-mailing the coach but says she doesn't know what to expect."It should be interesting," she said. "I'm excited, but I don't really know too much about it yet."

Contributions by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Wesleyan rising senior Anne Marie Armstrong has made a verbal commitment to continue her basketball career at the University of Georgia.  Armstrong made the verbal commitment over the weekend while in Athens attending Georgia's basketball camp with her Wesleyan teammates.  Armstrong, the reigning Miss Georgia Basketball, was quoted in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution stating "It's always been a dream of mine to play basketball at Georgia for Coach [Andy] Landers.  I'd watch games on TV when I was little and decided it would be cool to play there."  Armstrong selected Georgia after a long recruiting process that began her freshman year at Wesleyan.  Among the schools recruiting her were Florida State, Wake Forest, Maryland, LSU, Duke and Georgia Tech.  On selecting Georgia, Armstrong told the Gwinnett Daily Post, "I just wanted to be sure Georgia was the right choice for me," Armstrong said. "It came down to how well I got along with the players and coaches, and I liked the facilities and the school for all the social and academic stuff, too."  She said Landers envisions her as a small forward, and that she hopes to make an immediate impact.  When she laces up her shoes for her first college game, Armstrong will become the 10th Wesleyan player to play at the collegiate level.  Congratulations to Anne Marie on her decision and the relief that comes from having made it.  I'm sure she will make us all proud as she competes in the toughest conference in women's college basketball, the SEC.

THE NEXT LEVEL

Wesleyan junior Anne Marie Armstrong has been named National Player of the Year by the National Christian School Athletic Association.  She is also a First Team All American selection.  NCSAA All-Americans were chosen from among finalists, based on this season's statistics and achievements; competitive strength of team schedule; level of skill (assessed by submitted video); and other significant factors that were shared during the nomination process.  Anne Marie will receive an award certificate for her accomplishment.  In addition, notice of each player's selection will be sent to his/her local newspaper(s) for suggested publication.  The All-American teams will be featured in an upcoming issue of Passion in Play (the NCSAA magazine), and on the NCSAA web site the list will also be published to the attention of college coaches.  Each Player of the Year will be individually featured in Passion in Play and will receive an additional award plaque, to recognize his/her selection.  Anne Marie becomes the first Wesleyan player to earn National Player of the Year honors.  She was named Second Team All American last season making her the first Wesleyan player to earn NCSAA All America honors twice.  Two other Wesleyan players have earned NCSAA All America honors.  In 2004, Nikki Luckhurst was named second team All American by the NCSAA while Carolyn Whitney was named third team All American in 2006.   Congratulations to Anne Marie for this amazing honor!

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution released its All State team on Sunday with Wesleyan having two representatives.  Junior Anne Marie Armstrong earned First Team All State Honors while sophomore Erin Hall was named Second Team All State.  Armstrong was not named AA player of the year as she had already received the Miss Georgia Basketball award recognizing her as the most outstanding player in the state.  This was Armstrong's second All State award while Hall is earning her first.  Finally, Wesleyan caoch Jan Azar was named AA Coach of the Year.  It is her fifth coach of the year honor.  Congratulations to all three!