SPORTS BRIEF: Delaney-Smith tapped for Pan Am coaching gig this summer

The USA Women’s Basketball Collegiate Committee announced last week that Kathy Delaney-Smith, head coach of the Harvard women’s basketball team, has been named to the coaching staff of the U.S. Pan American Games team.

After leading the Crimson to an Ivy League championship during the 2006-2007 season, Delaney-Smith returns to the international stage, where she has enjoyed success in the past.

In 2005, as the head coach of the USA World University Games team, she led her squad to a 8-0 mark and a gold medal.

Dawn Staley, a former USA National Team assistant coach, will serve as head coach of the team.

The tournament includes eight national teams from the Western Hemisphere, and will be held July 20-24 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The U.S. team will tip off first on July 20 against Colombia, and will play Argentina and Cuba on the following two days.

The tournament semifinals and finals are scheduled for July 23 and 24.