ATLANTA -- Connecticut's Diana Taurasi and Duke's Alana Beard are among the 18 NCAA Division I seniors who have been named to the 2004 WBCA All-Star Challenge.

The game, which will be played on April 3 at Tulane's Fogelman Arena, features an all-star lineup that showcases the nation's top seniors. The top senior from each of the NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA, as determined by the State Farm/WBCA Player of the Year balloting, also will join the team, which is also voted on by NCAA D-I head coaches.

The All-Star Challenge team, which is composed of six players from each position (point guard, perimeter, post) will play the 2004 USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team. This will mark the third time the teams will compete against each other.

Beard's teammate, Iciss Tillis, also was selected. Duke, LSU (Doneeka Hodges and Temeka Johnson) and Purdue (Erika Valek and Shereka Wright) were the only schools to have two players named to the All-Star Challenge.

The roster also includes Boston College's Amber Jacobs, Minnesota's Lindsay Whalen, Arkansas' Shameka Christon, Houston's Chandi Jones, Penn State's Kelly Mazzante, Stanford's Nicole Powell, Colorado's Tera Bjorklund, Georgetown's Rebekkah Brunson, Kansas State's Nicole Ohlde, Texas' Stacy Stephens and Georgia's Christi Thomas.

The roster will change, however, if any of the players' teams reach the Final Four. In that case, alternates will not be chosen due to the USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team's involvement.

A prelude to the NCAA Women's Final Four in New Orleans, this year's game will be the second of a doubleheader event featured during the "WBCA Night of All-Stars." Fans will have an opportunity to watch and collect autographs from the future WNBA stars, as well as see the WBCA High School All-America Game, presented by Nike, which tips off at 5:30 p.m. ET.