BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Joyce Edwards wasted no time making her presence known in her debut with South Carolina women’s basketball.
The freshman forward, who was ranked No. 3 in the 2024 class, scored a layup on her first offensive possession in the Gamecocks’ exhibition victory at Memphis on Tuesday. Edwards logged a double-double by halftime.
She ended with a team-high 19 points and 12 rebounds, and the potential for the 6-foot-3 prospect out of Camden is obvious.
“Joyce is going to be very impactful. I think she’ll win SEC Freshman of the Year if she keeps doing what she’s doing, keeps wanting to be a sponge and learn,” junior point guard Raven Johnson said Wednesday at SEC Basketball Tipoff ’25 at the Grand Bohemian Hotel. “Joyce, I mean – a double-double in her first game, a debut, that is crazy. And she didn’t even realize it.”
Edwards fit in quickly with the reigning national champions. She did the work to learn about the program, and her personality fits right in with the Gamecocks. Edwards comes from winning programs in AAU and high school, and it’s something Johnson has noticed in her mentality.
“She just does the little things to win,” Johnson said. “She’s used to that winning mentality, so just (adding) her with the winning people we already have, it just makes us so much better.”
Coach Dawn Staley was pleased with Edwards’ performance, and said she played like she has been practicing this preseason. She wasn’t sure how the freshman would handle her first college game, but Edwards hit the ground running.
“I know she was a little nervous at the beginning of the game, right before we started the game,” Staley said. “I think sometimes with a player like that, they might need to see the game a little bit and anticipate what’s going to happen out there on the floor. … But the moment we inserted her into the game, she imposed her will, on both sides of the basketball.”
Staley described Edwards as a player with high intelligence and a strong competitive nature. Edwards is “very mature” for her age, Staley said, and “just plays the right way.”
Edwards joined the Gamecocks at an interesting time in terms of roster construction. South Carolina under Staley has always played around a dominant post player, which have included A’ja Wilson and Aliyah Boston.
South Carolina won’t have 6-7 center Kamilla Cardoso, who was selected No. 3 overall in the WNBA draft by the Chicago Sky.
There wasn’t a clear successor for Cardoso. Freshman Adhel Tac – who enrolled early last season to rehab an injury – is the only post player with true size at 6-5. While she has a high ceiling, she only got fully cleared two weeks ago. Tac has all the makings of a dominant big, Staley said.
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But there’s opportunities for the forwards to all make an impact, and Johnson already sees Edwards as one of her top options as the starting point guard.
“Is it fun? It’s very fun,” Johnson said of all her options in the post. “I mean, I miss Kamilla, yes, I do miss Kamilla. But you got a Joyce Edwards, I mean, that’s my go-to now. It’s like another Kamilla with her.”
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Why South Carolina’s Dawn Staley is excited about freshman Joyce Edwards
