ANKARA (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women) - Turkey have confirmed a major change to their roster for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women (OQTW) with center Quanitra Hollingsworth to serve as the team's naturalized player.
Hollingsworth, who has experience in both the WNBA and the EuroLeague Women, has replaced Nevin Nevlin in the squad.
The 1.95m Nevlin, 27, was the standout player in the Turkey squad when they stunned France in last year's EuroBasket Women Semi-Finals, pouring in 23 points and grabbing eight rebounds in that 68-62 overtime victory.
But Turkey have opted for Hollingsworth, a 1.96m center who averaged 14.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game this season for Uni Seat Gyor in the EuroLeague Women.
Hollingsworth was also vital as Gyor won the Hungarian title.
The national team coach Ceyhun Yildizoglu had Nevlin in training camp but there had been speculation for the past few months that her spot would indeed be taken by Hollingsworth, and so it has proved.
Also in the Turkish squad are Nevriye Yilmaz, Esmeral Tuncluer, Birsel Vardarli, Nilay Kartaltepe, Tugba Palazoglu, Bahar Caglar, Isil Alben, Saziye Ivegin, Yasemin Horasan, Tugce Canitez and Begum Dalgalar.
Yilmaz, Tuncluer, Vardarli, Kartaltepe, Palazoglu, Caglar, Alben, Ivegin and Horasan were in last year's squad.
In addition to Hollingsworth, other newcomers are Canitez and Dalgalar.
Canitez is a 21-year-old power forward who played for Turkey at the 2010 U20 European Championship and also competed in five qualifying games for the EuroBasket Women 2011.
Dalgalar, a 1.84m small forward, played for Turkey at the 2008 U20 European Championship.
Turkey will host the OQTW and play in Group A against Puerto Rico and Japan.
FIBA
