The USA women's national under-19 basketball team is the women's basketball team, administered by USA Basketball, that represents the United States in international under-19 and under-18 (under age 19 and under age 18) women's basketball competitions, consisting mainly of the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship for Women and FIBA Under-19 World Championship for Women. The events were originally referred to as the FIBA Americas Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament and the FIBA Junior World Championship.
The usual sequence is for the U18 team to play in a regional championship in one year, with the top four qualifying teams being invited to the FIBA Under-19 World Championship in the following year, as the U19 team. The first Junior World Championship was held in 1985, without a qualifying tournament in the prior year. Starting in 1988, the events were on a four-year cycle, with the FIBA Americas Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament in 1988, followed by the FIBA Junior World Championship in 1989. This continued until the format was changed in 2006. Now, the U18 team plays in the U18 Americas event every other year, and the U19 World event in subsequent years.
The U18 team becomes the U19 team, with largely the same players and coaches, although changes can occur. For example, while Debbie Ryan served as head coach for the 1988 U18 team, and again as head coach for the 1989 U19 team, the head coach for the 1992 U18 team was Nancy Wilson, but changed to Jim Foster for the 1993 U19 team. There are also changes in the playing roster, although many of the players on the U18 team go on to play on the U19 team.