South Carolina women’s basketball player Joyce Edwards has received both conference and national recognition following two recent wins. Edwards was named SEC co-Player of the Week by the league office and was also selected as one of the USBWA’s National Players of the Week. This marks the second time this season she has earned both awards, and her third SEC Player of the Week honor overall.
During last week’s games, Edwards became the fifth-fastest Gamecock to reach 1,000 career points and is now the first in program history to score at least 20 points in four consecutive SEC games. She averaged 20.5 points per game while shooting 71.4 percent from the field and 73.3 percent from the free throw line. Edwards also contributed 4.5 assists per game.
Against Mississippi State, Edwards scored nine of South Carolina’s first 15 points, helping build a 10-point lead after one quarter. She finished with a career-high tying six assists and 21 points, reaching her 1,000th career point in her 64th game. In a matchup against No. 19/17 Tennessee, she recorded 20 points—including four consecutive late in the first quarter—to help turn a tie into a seven-point lead at the end of that period. She ended with four assists and eight rebounds.
Her performance helped move South Carolina into sole possession of first place in the SEC regular-season standings. The team’s win over Tennessee—a margin of victory by 43 points—was their largest ever against a ranked opponent and marked Tennessee’s largest defeat in program history.
For this season, Edwards ranks fifteenth nationally in scoring with an average of 20.3 points per game and is ninth in field goal percentage at .606. In addition to being among league leaders in blocks (ninth) and steals (twelfth), she has scored at least 20 points fifteen times this season and reached double figures every game played so far.
Other players recognized as USBWA National Players of the Week were Jaloni Cambridge (Ohio State), Timaya Lewis-Eutsey (Marshall), Gisella Maul (Cal), and Kiki Rice (UCLA).
South Carolina is currently ranked No. 3/3 nationally and will play on the road against No. 6/5 LSU this weekend, with tipoff scheduled for Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
For further updates throughout the season, information can be found on GamecocksOnline.com or via team social media accounts (@GamecockWBB).
