After year of change, Kingston’s Aaliyah Edwards prepares for more

It’s been said that the lone changeless successful beingness is change. That couldn’t beryllium much existent than for Kingston, Ont.’s Aaliyah Edwards. With her rookie play successful the books, Edwards says the past twelvemonth has been a ‘rollercoaster’.

Last autumn she began her elder twelvemonth with the UConn Huskies, which ended successful a heartbreaking nonaccomplishment successful the Final Four to Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes.

Only a fewer weeks later, Edwards was drafted 6th wide successful the WNBA draught and rapidly transitioned into a archetypal nonrecreational grooming campy and regular season.

As if that wasn’t enough, the 22-year-old besides represented Canada astatine past summer’s Paris Olympics.

The Washington Mystics guardant is present enjoying her archetypal existent off-season successful 5 years.

“I’m loving it due to the fact that I really conscionable tin enactment a batch of attention, a batch of absorption successful my crippled and conscionable fundamentals,” Edwards said.

Edwards finished her rookie play averaging 7.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.

Although she did commencement successful a fistful of games passim the summer, the erstwhile Frontenac Falcon and Kingston Impact standout recovered herself coming disconnected the seat astir nights and wasn’t 1 of the team’s archetypal options offensively.

“I knew what the stakes were,” she said.

“I cognize going into this caller league, specified an elite league similar the W is going to beryllium hard for maine to benignant of get the respect close away, but I deliberation I earned it passim the season.”

She says it was to beryllium expected arsenic a rookie, pointing to a akin concern during her freshman twelvemonth astatine Connecticut.

“The biggest happening for my mindset was conscionable waiting for my fig to beryllium called and conscionable staying acceptable and anytime my squad needed me, I was determination for them.

“I did person large games. I besides had games wherever I didn’t lend arsenic overmuch connected the container score, but it was the small things that helped america get the win.”

She says the biggest alteration was going from playing against 18- to 21-year-olds to playing against grown women.

“The physicality, the gait of the crippled — you know, bigger, stronger, faster girls than I’m utilized to competing against.”

In the end, the rookie believes she handled herself good and has a batch to beryllium arrogant of during her archetypal twelvemonth successful the WNBA. She says the feedback she’s gotten is impervious of that.

Another alteration Edwards felt was moving from a perennial powerhouse successful the Huskies to a rebuilding concern with the Mystics. Washington started the play with a 12-game losing streak. That unsocial is frustrating, but adjacent much truthful erstwhile you origin successful that galore of those losses were wrong 7 points.

“We were virtually close there,” she said. “That was a immense hard infinitesimal for me. Just due to the fact that I’m coming from UConn, I’m coming from a large programme wherever we clasp ourselves to a standard, and that modular is winning.”

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Throughout her rookie season, Edwards faced much alteration arsenic immoderate teammates were traded oregon released, and astatine the season’s end, the Mystics parted ways with some their caput manager and wide manager.

“That deed maine hard, she said. “But astatine the aforesaid time, you conscionable person to adapt. I’m successful a league present wherever you can’t truly absorption connected what happened yesterday.”

“You got to absorption guardant and conscionable … beryllium ready,” she said of the unpredictability of the WNBA.

The adjacent alteration for Aaliyah Edwards volition beryllium walking into a bigger league. The WNBA welcomes its 15th franchise this coming play with the Golden State Valkyries acceptable to articulation the league successful 2025. It volition past invited teams successful Toronto and Portland for 2026.

“The maturation and viewership are the biggest things we arsenic athletes effort to beforehand and advocator for,” she said, emphasizing her hopes for the league’s continued evolution.

You won’t person to hold agelong to spot Aaliyah backmost connected the court. She’s acceptable to articulation the off-season 3×3 league ‘Unrivaled’ led by New York Liberty prima Breanna Stewart.

Edwards volition usage her clip successful Miami, wherever the league’s games volition beryllium held, to hone her skills adjacent much successful hopes of a breakout play — and much alteration — successful 2025.