CINCINNATI — Purcell Marian 2025 wing Dee Alexander was invited Tuesday to participate in the 2024 USA Basketball Women's U17 National Team trials in Colorado Springs starting May 23.
Alexander, the two-time Ohio Ms. Basketball recipient who is verbally committed to the University of Cincinnati, is one of 44 athletes invited to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado. The 12-member team is expected to be announced at the conclusion of the trials.
Alexander helped to lead USA Basketball's U16 Women's National Team to win the gold medal in Merida, Mexico in June 2023.
"This is really a fun experience," Alexander said. "I can't wait for the next one because I know it's going to be the same experience but even better."
The 2024 FIBA U17 Women's World Cup is scheduled for July 13-21 in Irapuato and Leon, Mexico.
Alexander led Purcell Marian (29-1) to a third consecutive state title in March. Purcell Marian is No. 15 nationally in the season's final MaxPreps Top 25 rankings. She was also the Gatorade Ohio high school player of the year and the Ohio MaxPreps player of the year among other accolades.
"How much Dee has grown over the past couple of years, how she's been able to handle herself, how she's been able to carry herself has really been quite remarkable," Purcell Marian girls basketball coach Jamar Mosley said.
Alexander became the Ohio High School Athletic Association's all-time girls basketball state tournament scoring leader during the first half of this year's Division II state final. She scored 134 career points in the state tournament from 2022 to 2024 — with all those games at University of Dayton Arena.
Purcell Marian has an 83-4 record for the past three seasons.
"This is my last ride so you know I feel like I'm just going to give it my all," Alexander said of her upcoming senior season. "Don't let nothing down. Don't let nothing hold me back. Same thing I've been doing for the last three years. Keep it the same but just work even harder."
