Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter
EDWARDS
JAMAICAN INTERNATIONAL Simone Edwards has thrown in the towel
after a six-year career with Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
team Seattle Storms.
Edwards' announcement comes just ahead of her plans to represent the nation at the Caribbean Basketball Championships next month, which might have been an issue with the team.
However, Edwards, while speaking to The Gleaner while visiting the country recently, had also hinted at the prospect of retirement due to niggling injuries.
The rigorous schedule of the WNBA would have prevented her from continuing her career in Europe, a prospect which the player has recently taken into consideration. Edwards, affectionately referred to as the Jamaican Hurricane, will be missed by the fans and team alike.
" Simone has been an integral part of the Storms' success both on the court and in making our mark in Seattle's community," Storms head coach and director of Player Personnel Anne Donovan was quoted as saying on the Storms' website.
"Simone will be forever remembered with tremendous fondness, to the many whose lives she has touched," Donovan went on to add.
The player, who reached the pinnacle of her career when she won a championship with the Seattle Storm in 2004, began her career as a developmental player assigned to the New York Liberty in 1997.
After playing for some time in Europe and two years off with injury, she returned to the WNBA to sign with the Storm in 2000.
"I feel fortunate to have been a member of the Storm since its beginning, it has been a wonderful journey," Edwards was quoted as saying.
"To have the opportunity to win a championship and play in front of the best fans in the WNBA over the past six seasons has been an honour. I am very grateful to the Storm organisation and will cherish the time I spent in Seattle," she said.
Edwards will finish her career high on the Storms' all-time statistical ladder in many categories including fourth in points with 936, third in rebounds with 625, fifth in steals with 83, fourth in blocked shots with 56 and first in games played with 178. The centre is expected in be the centrepiece of Jamaica's offence when the championships tip-off on June 13.
