Great Britain head coach Chema Buceta has announced an initial 14 players (with 1 guest player) for the first preparation camp for the senior women, ahead of their tournament in Belarus and exciting qualification campaign for FIBA EuroBasket Women 2019.

And, the list includes no fewer than nine Women’s British Basketball League players – including a trio from Leicester Riders in the shape of Erin McGarrachan, Mollie Campbell and Jamila Thompson.

There are also two places for Barking Abbey Crusaders, who are represented by Christina Gaskin and also Abigail Johnson who is a guest U20 player.

The call-up for Team Northumbria’s Nicolette Fong Lyew Quee will be particularly exciting, and she will compete for backcourt minutes with both rising star Georgia Gayle of Westfield Health Sheffield Hatters and the legendary Stef Collins of Cardiff Met Archers.

There is also recognition by way of a surprise call-up for Hannah Shaw of Nottingham Wildcats, with the centre currently looking forward to Sunday’s Play-Off Final at The 02.

The first camp takes place from the 15th – 20th of May and is followed by the Belarus tournament from 21st – 25th of May, which will see the players face some stern competition against Argentina, Croatia and hosts Belarus.

The preparation camps will be a great opportunity for Coach Buceta to see the players that have just graduated from college this year and bring them in alongside the experienced and dedicated senior players.

June will then be a second opportunity for Coach Buceta to see a few more players, which he has not been able to see before.

Coach Buceta is eager to get going and excited about seeing his new prospects and said: “This is the first activity of the new campaign of the GB senior national team. This will be an important experience to improve the level of the team and an opportunity to see new players at international level. Thank you to all the players who have accepted this new challenge for their generous commitment to the team”.

Several players are also hyped about their inclusion, in this first initial prepetition camp. Janice Monakana of Toledo Rockets Women’s Basketball commented: “I am excited to be one of the few selected to be a part of this camp.

“This is a great opportunity for me to show my growth as a player and compete and get better alongside other great players.”

Melita Carr, who has recently graduated from college added: “I’m super excited to start my next adventure with GB senior women this summer.”

Great Britain squad:

Stef Collins – Cardiff Met Archers
Rachael Vanderwal – Mann Filter Zaragoza
Christina Gaskin – Barking Abbey Crusaders
Janice Monakana – Toledo Rockets
Melita Carr UIC – Flames Basketball
Azania Stewart – Campus Promete
Chantelle Handy – Piestanske Cajky
Mollie Campbell – Leicester Riders
Nicolette Fong Lyew Quee – Team Northumbria
Erin McGarrachan – Leicester Riders
Georgia Gayle – Westfield Health Sheffield Hatters
Eilidh Simpson – Femeni Sant Adria Adedi
Jamila Thompson – Leicester Riders
Hannah Shaw – Nottingham Wildcats
Abigail Johnson* – Barking Abbey Crusaders

*U20 guest player