Basketball
MiLaysia Fulwiley left South Carolina this offseason via the transfer portal and landed at the Gamecocks’ SEC rival, LSU.
But before the dynamic guard faces off against her former teammates this winter, she’s joining forces with one of them to lead Team USA in a 3×3 tournament.
Fulwiley and rising South Carolina sophomore Joyce Edwards are among the stars on the squad Team USA has assembled for the FIBA 3×3 Nations League Americas Conference.
The Americans are set to play in six three-game tournaments staged over seven days from July 21-27. At stake in the tournament are points that will help teams qualify for the FIBA 3×3 U23 World Cup. That tournament will be played in China in September.
Also on this squad for Team USA alongside Fulwiley and Edwards are TCU guard Taylor Bigby, Tennessee forward Zee Spearman, Richmond guard Rachel Ullstrom, and former Kansas State star Serena Sundell who led the NCAA in assists last season before being selected in the WNBA Draft by the Seattle Storm.
Coaching the team is current Grand Canyon assistant Julia Ford. She was previously an assistant at Missouri, where she had to scout the likes of Fulwiley and Edwards.
Fulwiley shined in the 3×3 game earlier this year at the USA Basketball 3X3 Nationals in Mesa, Arizona. Fulwiley was named MVP of the tournament after she powered Team Chaos to the championship, leading the team in scoring in the semifinal and title game. Tennessee’s Spearman was on that squad too.
For Edwards, this is the second time this summer she’s starred for Team USA as she played a key role for the full 5×5 senior national team at the AmeriCup where the Americans won gold under the guidance of Duke coach Kara Lawson. Edwards averaged 9.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game and was the only player to start all seven games in the tournament for Team USA.
At the 3×3 Nations League tournament on Monday, the Americans got off to a 2-1 start, falling to Canada and then notching victories over the Cayman Islands and Argentina. Edwards led the team in scoring in all three games.
And it looks like she and Fulwiley have retained some chemistry from their time with the Gamecocks:
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