March 21, 2026, 11:09 a.m. ET
Joyce Edwards and the first-seeded South Carolina women’s basketball team open the 2026 NCAA Tournament on March 21 with a first-round sport towards Sixteenth-seed Southern. The Gamecocks put collectively a 31-3 file to enter March Madness, ending first in the SEC.
The sophomore Edwards is in her second March Madness, serving to lead South Carolina to the brink of one other nationwide championship earlier than the Gamecocks ran smack into UConn in the title sport. Here’s what to find out about Edwards.
USA TODAY Sports has a workforce of journalists covering the women’s NCAA Tournament to maintain you updated with each level scored, rebound grabbed and sport received in the 68-team match.
Join the USA TODAY $1 million Bracket ChallengeJoyce Edwards stats 2025-26 season
All stats as of Selection Sunday (March 15)
- Points per sport: 19.6
- Rebounds per sport: 6.3
- Assist per sport: 2.4
- Field Goal Percentage: 58.7%
Edwards’ South Carolina information
Joyce Edwards has wasted little time making historical past at South Carolina.The 6-foot-3 sophomore not too long ago surpassed 1,000 profession factors, turning into the fifth-fastest Gamecock to succeed in the milestone. During her freshman season, she set this system file for many video games performed in a season with 39 and established herself as probably the most productive first-year gamers in college historical past.
Edwards excels in the classroom
Edwards is an Honors Environmental Engineering main and carried a 5.0 GPA all through highschool. Her educational ambitions have been so particular that South Carolina coach Dawn Staley labored with the college’s honors faculty to ascertain a specialised educational path that aligned with Edwards’ targets.Both of her mother and father, Rasheedah and Charlie, are engineers and and Edwards has stated she aspires to the identical occupation after basketball. She was named to the 2024-25 SEC Academic Honor Roll and has persistently emphasised training as a precedence alongside her success on the cour
Edwards’ environment friendly inside scoring
Edwards is averaging 19.8 factors a sport — rating among the many high 20 scorers nationally and third in the SEC — whereas not often counting on the 3-point shot.Instead, she dominates contained in the arc, with only one.7% of her scoring being from 3-point rangeIn December, she erupted for 34 factors towards South Florida, taking pictures 14-of-15 from the sector in probably the most environment friendly performances in the nation this season. She provides greater than six rebounds a sport and has been named SEC Player of the Week 3 times this yr, together with incomes USBWA National Player of the Week honors on Feb. 10.
When is the Women’s Final Four?
The 2026 Women’s NCAA Tournament ideas off on Friday, April 3 at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix and Arizona.
2026 Women’s NCAA Tournament full schedule
- March 18-19: First Four
- March 20-21: First Round
- March 22-23: Second Round
- March 27-28: Sweet 16
- March 29-30: Elite 8
- April 3: Final Four
- April 5: National Championship
Lily Cincola contributed to this story
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