# Simone Edwards
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{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Short description|Jamaican basketball player (1973–2023)}}
{{more citations needed|biography|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Simone Edwards
{{nobold|[OD](/source/Order_of_Distinction_(Jamaica))}}
| image = Simone Edwards 06.jpg
| width = 210px
| caption = Edwards in 2006
| team =
| number =
| league =
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 4
| weight_lbs = 164
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1973|11|17|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [Kingston, Jamaica](/source/Kingston%2C_Jamaica)
| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|2|16|1973|11|17|mf=y}}
| death_place = [Florida](/source/Florida), U.S.
| high_school =
| college = [Iowa](/source/Iowa_Hawkeyes_women's_basketball)
}}
'''Simone Ann-Marie Edwards''' (November 17, 1973 – February 16, 2023) was a Jamaican basketball player who played for the [New York Liberty](/source/New_York_Liberty) and the [Seattle Storm](/source/Seattle_Storm) and was the first Jamaican player in the [Women's National Basketball Association](/source/Women's_National_Basketball_Association) (WNBA). The 6'4" [center](/source/center_(basketball)) was known to fans as the "Jamaican Hurricane."
==Career==
Edwards did not play basketball in [high school](/source/high_school). She was spotted by an American college basketball coach after competing in a track meet in [Jamaica](/source/Jamaica), where she was undefeated as a [sprint](/source/sprint_(running))er throughout high school.{{cn|date=March 2024}} She first garnered attention on the court during junior college, at [Seminole State College](/source/Seminole_State_College_(Oklahoma)) in [Seminole, Oklahoma](/source/Seminole%2C_Oklahoma), leading the team to an undefeated conference record, ranking in the [National Junior College Athletic Association](/source/National_Junior_College_Athletic_Association) Top 10. During her tenure, she became the First Kodak [All-American](/source/All-American) in the school’s history. In 1996–97, she led the [University of Iowa Hawkeyes](/source/Iowa_Hawkeyes_women's_basketball) in field-goal percentage (.557) during her senior season.
Edwards was one of three players picked out of over 300 athletes at a [New York Liberty](/source/New_York_Liberty) tryout camp. She was chosen as a developmental player by the Liberty in 1997, but never saw a game until signing on with the newly inaugurated [Seattle Storm](/source/Seattle_Storm) in 2000. She was the only player to be a part of the team for every game of its first six seasons. Edwards won a [WNBA championship](/source/WNBA_championship) with the Storm in 2004.
On May 19, 2006, just prior to the start of the 2006 WNBA season, Edwards announced her retirement from the WNBA. She retired as the team's all-time leader in [rebounds](/source/rebound_(sports_term)), minutes, and games played.
From 1997 to 2007, Edwards played professional basketball in [Europe](/source/Europe) and [Israel](/source/Israel). Edwards coached the Jamaican women's national basketball team and led them to a 2014 Caribbean Championship. On August 5, 2007, she was hired as an assistant coach at [Radford University](/source/Radford_University). Edwards was an assistant at [George Mason University](/source/George_Mason_University) from 2008 to 2011.
==Personal life and death==
Edwards was named the National Spokesperson for Caribbean American Heritage Month for June 2017. On June 9, 2017, she released ''Unstoppable: A Memoir of Adversity, Perseverance & Triumph''.{{cn|date=December 2023}} On August 6, 2017, the Government of Jamaica appointed Edwards an [Officer of the Order of Distinction](/source/Order_of_Distinction_(Jamaica)) (OD), which is bestowed on citizens of Jamaica who have rendered outstanding and important service to Jamaica in their field.[{{cite web |title=Outstanding Jamaicans Honoured |url=https://jis.gov.jm/outstanding-jamaicans-honoured-2/ |website=[Jamaica Information Service](/source/Jamaica_Information_Service) |access-date=19 February 2023 |date=17 October 2017}}]
Edwards died from ovarian cancer on February 16, 2023, at the age of 49.[{{cite web |last=Allen |first=Percy |title=Simone Edwards, former Storm champion and Jamaican basketball star, dies at 49 |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/storm/simone-edwards-former-storm-champion-and-jamaican-basketball-star-dies-at-49/ |work=[The Seattle Times](/source/The_Seattle_Times) |access-date=February 17, 2023 |date=February 16, 2023}}]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.wnba.com/storm/roster/simone_edwards.html Seattle Storm Player Profile]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051122224026/http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/simone_edwards/ WNBA Player Profile]
*[http://www.simone4children.org/ Simone Edwards' "Simone4Children" charitable foundation]
*[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/storm/2003007098_storm20.html May 20, 2006 ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' article on her retirement]
*[http://www.wnba.com/storm/news/edwards060519.html May 19, 2006 Seattle Storm press release on her retirement]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071020054232/http://www.ruhighlanders.com/news/news_detail.php?news_id=1620 July 17, 2007 press release on joining Radford University's coaching staff]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080317021352/http://www.ruhighlanders.com/profiles/coaches/Edwards.html Radford University coaching profile]
*[http://www.hoop-camps.de Basketballcamps with Simone Edwards]
*[https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latest-news/simone-edwards-first-jamaican-to-play-in-wnba-dies-at-49/ Simone Edwards, first Jamaican to play in WNBA, dies at 49]
{{Seattle Storm 2004 WNBA Champions}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Simone}}
Category:1973 births
Category:2023 deaths
Category:Basketball players from Kingston, Jamaica
Category:Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball players
Category:Radford Highlanders women's basketball coaches
Category:Jamaican women sprinters
Category:Jamaican women's basketball players
Category:Centers (basketball)
Category:Seattle Storm players
Category:Basketball players at the 2007 Pan American Games
Category:Pan American Games competitors for Jamaica
Category:Jamaican women's basketball coaches
Category:Deaths from ovarian cancer in Florida
Category:Jamaican autobiographers
Category:Jamaican women memoirists
Category:Officers of the Order of Distinction
Category:Jamaican expatriate basketball people in the United States
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Simone Edwards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simone_Edwards) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simone_Edwards?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.