The clean triple helped to serve notice that, broken nose or no broken nose, mask or no mask, Pohlen, of Brea, Calif., and a Stanford signee, still was serious about making the USA U19 team that will compete at the FIBA World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, July 26-Aug. 5.

Jeanette Pohlen

"I definitely wanted to get a feel for it early," Pohlen said after the Saturday morning session at the U19 trials. "I tried to just focus on my shot and not on the fact that I was wearing a mask. ... I'm trying to show that I want to be here and that I can play through injuries. Injuries never really have affected me like that might other players."

X-rays revealed that Pohlen suffered a broken nose when, during Friday's morning session, she caught an elbow from Drey Mingo while defending the 6-foot-2 Atlantan's signature spin move. Pohlen said she blacked out and then immediately felt light-headed. That Pohlen, at 6 feet, was tussling down low with a bigger player showed some of the toughness and eagerness that has made her one of the surprise hits of these trials.

Pohlen may be one of the most underrated players in the 2007 class. HoopGurlz.com ranked her 22nd in the nation, but was the only organization that had Pohlen ranked nearly so high. Nevertheless, she was the subject of heated recruiting efforts in the Pac-10, led Brea-Olinda High to a 33-2 record and national ranking with averages of 22.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 3.4 steals, and was named Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of California.

The other attributes that Pohlen has put on display here - her characteristic hustle and passing - have been by design. The bonus for a USA selection committee that bemoaned the team's lack of shooting last year is that Pohlen also has been nearly automatic from the perimeter. She says she realizes she is not as fast as many of the players here, but Pohlen covers more ground than most because of her work ethic.

"My main thing was just to show that I want to be here," Pohlen said, "and that I'm willing to work and try hard every practice and every game. I definitely want to be here and want to make the team. I don't know if it's what they are looking for, but I'm going to show it with my effort."

Jeanette Pohlen

Part of Pohlen's effort has been to become more vocal on the court. That has stood out in a group that has been relatively quiet.

"It helps me stay organized and get into the game," she said. "It allows me to have a say in things and helps me communicate with my teammates, which is important."

Pohlen had been playing so well, that some air went out of the gym when she laid prone after the collision on Friday morning. She received the protective mask, which of course does not have a customized fit, on Friday night. She tried it on and got a little feel for it that evening, then shot around a little before her first scrimmage on Saturday morning.

Besides being a little uncomfortable, Pohlen said the mask makes it a bit difficult to see. Her plan is simply to play harder, to make up for any deficiencies caused by the mask. She added that she didn't feel any urgency, even though she only has Saturday to show the committee that she can play through the injury. Even if her nose required the maximum eight weeks to heal, Pohlen conceivably could play in the World Championships without a mask.

"I'm not going to do anything that's not my game," Pohlen said. "I'm just going to play how I normally do."

So far, that has been enough to give her a good shot at earning a spot.

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Glenn Nelson is the publisher of HoopGurlz.com. He also founded and coached the Dragons and Northwest HoopGurlz select girl's basketball teams. Glenn previously was the editor-in-chief at Scout.com and a longtime, national-award-winning basketball columnist and writer for The Seattle Times. His work also has appeared in several books and national magazines. He is co-author of "Rising Stars: The Ten Best Players in the NBA" (Rosen Publishing, 2002). For more on Glenn's World, click here. He can be reached at glenn@hoopgurlz.com.