July 21, 2004

Bretagne, France – South Carolina sophomore women’s basketball players Iva Sliskovic and Lea Fabbri join the rest of the Croatian Under-20 National Team as it competes at the FIBA European Championships for Under-20 Women, beginning this Friday with a matchup against Gamecock 2004 signee Ilona Burgrova and the Czech Republic.

Both Croatia and the Czech Republic are in Group B of the competition, joined by Spain, Hungary, Poland and Belgium. The competition is held in the Bretagne region of France.

“We are very excited for Iva, Lea and Ilona and the opportunity they have to represent their countries,” South Carolina head coach Susan Walvius said. “This is an honor for all of them and is a testament to their hard work and dedication.”

Sliskovic and Fabbri are coming off seasons in which they both contributed immediately as true freshmen for the Gamecocks. Sliskovic started 27 of the team’s 28 games and ranked third on the squad with an 11.0 points per game average. She led the team with 7.1 rebounds per game, blocked a team-high 26 shots and posted a .549 field goal percentage, which also led the team. Fabbri came off the bench to play in 24 games, averaging 2.2 points, 1.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.

Standing 6-6, Burgrova is considered to be one of the top post players at her age in all of Europe. She has more than six years of Junior National and National Team experience, and is playing for one of the better teams in the field. The Czech Republic is the defending champion of the event, claiming the gold medal in 2002 after a silver-medal finish in 2000.

Preliminary round action starts this Friday, with the teams competing in round-robin format within their respective groups through July 28. The top two teams from each group qualify for the semi-finals, which will be played on July 31. The championship game is slated for August 1.