The serial number Joyce Edwards could be the spark of the South Carolina against Uconn in the championship

TAMPA, Fla. – With the clock ending in the first quarter, Joyce Edwards of the South Carolina had the ball on the perimeter and looked towards her coach, Dawn Staley.

He knew that the game was “Five Out”, and that with each player standing above the 3 -point arc, he would have had a driving lane.

The serial number did not know when to go, though. While the clock reached 25 seconds left in the fourth, he looked towards Staley. The coach of the Hall of Fame looked at Edwards and shrugged. It was as if he was saying: “Go, make a comedy”.

Edwards, who scored 12.7 points per game on average this season, listened to. He took the ball in his right hand, led hard with the Texas Kyla Oldacre striker, leaving the 6 -foot player behind him and 6, and made a nice finish line at the basket with 10 seconds left in the fourth.

It was a fluid game, something that not many 6-3 onwards can do while the game starts beyond the 3-point arch. But Edwards is not most of them; It was player n. 3 of the 2024 class, according to Espn, and has a set of skills that distinguishes it from its peers.

Everything was on Friday in the victory of the 74-57 final of the South Carolina on Texas. He concluded with 13 points and 11 rebounds, scoring the fourth double double of his young career. He also added six assists and a theft, which reported the South Carolina to his third national game in four years. Gamecocks will face Uconn on Sunday for the title.

Joyce Edwards is Hoopin ‘😤#MarchMadness X #Wfinalfour X @Gamecockwbb pic.twitter.com/akrq3v57nn

– NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnesswbb) April 5, 2025

The impact of Edwards is a turning point for the Gamecocks, said Staley.

“I don’t want to put him so much pressure on her, but that’s what he did throughout the season,” said Stley. “When he doesn’t get his average, when he doesn’t fly out there, we hear it.”

However, Edwards was not in that form for most of the tournament. When the opponents began to design against her, he went to a collapse. He scored five points in the victory of the second round tournament over the Indiana, six points in the Sweet 16 against Maryland and four points against Duke in the eight elite.

It was the longest section that recalls without reaching the double figures, but the Final Four were the perfect time to find its shape.

“It is comforting only knowing that I was about to bounce. It wasn’t if it was when,” Edwards said. “I’m happy that it was today.”

One of the things that Staley likes so much about Edwards is his brain.

Edwards went to the Camden High School, which is located just over half an hour from the South Carolina campus. He left Camden with a 5.08 GPA and arrived in the South Carolina as a specialist in environmental engineering at the Honours College. “He is a very, very intelligent individual,” said Stley. “Not many athletes are at the Honours College.”

His intelligence also translates into the field. Edwards sees things happen in slow motion, which is half of the adaptation for the freshmen who adapt to the game of college. But he also puts the job to watch the film to understand how the teams will protect it.

Even if this helps, sometimes it can also injure it, Staley said. “When our opponent is not where they think they are, this throws it a little laid, how,” that’s not what I studied, “said Stley.

When the NCAA tournament started, the teams started to launch several looks in Edwards, a frustrating experience. He opened the tournament with a dominant performance at 22 points against Tennessee Tech, but shot only 28 % from the field in the next three games. The Indiana doubled it in the second round, then Maryland and Duke followed the example, designing more and more. “I kept thinking about it and bringing it to the next game,” Edwards said.

He also had a huge impact on the game of the South Carolina. In those three games, the South Carolina won on average 6.3 points and its offense was a shell of the team that had an average of 79 points during the regular season.

It was obvious that the gamecocks needed more from Edwards. Staley did not want to put pressure on his serial number, but knew the reality of the situation. “If we win a national championship, we need better Joyce production,” said Stley after Eight Eights.

After constant conversations with his parents and the technical staff of the South Carolina, Edwards has arrived in the last four refreshes. “I just got rid and took what the floor gave me,” Edwards said.

There was no secret formula for Edwards to get out of her collapse, but it is something that the senior guard Te-Hina Paopao said it will be fine for Edwards in the future.

“You have to go through that process to really look at you and see if you really want to play this basketball game,” said Paopao.

Now, the goal is to repeat that performance in the greatest game of the year. Uconn’s Carolina will play in the match of the National Championship on Sunday, a revenge of the loss of 29 points on February 16. Edwards scored 17 points in that game. Although Paige Bueckers and Sarah Strong will be the most talented players on the floor in the game of the title, Edwards’s versatility from the bench could be a spark for the Gamecocks.

Against Texas, however, while Staley looked at Edwards before his layup at the end of the first quarter, he knew Edwards only needed a sign. Then he gave her with his shoulder shrug his shoulders and nodded.

“He just needed the signal to take off,” said Staley. Edwards did this on the largest stage of the tournament.

(Photo by Joyce Edwards: Carmen Mandate / Getty Images)