Simone Edwards, former WNBA player, dies at 49

Former WNBA player Simone Edwards has died after a two year battle with cancer.

She was 49.

Simone Edwards dies

According to ESPN, Edwards, the first Jamaican WNBA player, had a courageous two-year battle with stage 4 ovarian cancer. She played as a center for the Seattle Storm and Iowa Hawkeyes.

Edwards was a prolific track star in Jamaica before making her way to the United States for basketball. Her track prowess was so impressive that she earned the nickname “Jamaican Hurricane.”

The Seattle Storm shared the news and condolences on Twitter.

“We are saddened by the passing of our very own Simone Edwards,” the Storm tweeted Thursday evening.

“Our Jamaican Hurricane was a warrior on & off the court. With her indefatigable energy & optimism, she brought happiness to so many. Our thoughts & condolences are with Simone’s family and loved ones at this time.”

She was a prolific athlete

The 6-foot-4 athlete was discovered by an American basketball coach and played collegiately for Oklahoma before transferring to Iowa during her junior year, helping lead the 1996 team to a Big Ten championship, then a Big Ten tournament title the following year.

Simone Edwards (Photo Credit: 2006 S M O’Kelley | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Simone_Edwards_06.jpg)

During her six-year career in the WNBA, Edwards averaged 5.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. She was a part of the Storm team that won the Seattle organization their first WNBA finals championship. At age 32, she retired from the league before playing basketball a few years of overseas.

After retiring from playing, Edwards began coaching basketball, serving as a coach for the Jamaican national team before coaching at the college level for Radford and George Mason.

Outside of sports, Edwards also worked with youth programs, including Simone4Children (S4C), a non-profit foundation founded in 2000 to provide “year-round educational support, self-esteem, mentoring and anti-bullying programs to underprivileged children in Jamaica.

Simone Edwards was 49 years old.