Tonya Edwards

Summary

Tonya LaRay Edwards (born March 13, 1968)[1] is an American retired professional basketball player born in Flint, Michigan, currently an assistant coach of the Chicago Sky in the WNBA.[2] She was previously head coach of the Alcorn State Lady Braves basketball team.

Tonya Edwards
Chicago Sky
PositionAssistant Coach
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1968-03-13) March 13, 1968 (age 56)
Flint, Michigan, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Listed weight160 lb (73 kg)
Career information
High schoolFlint Northwestern (Flint, Michigan)
CollegeTennessee (1986–1990)
WNBA draft1999: 1st round, 7th overall pick
Selected by the Minnesota Lynx
Playing career1999–2002
PositionGuard
Coaching career1990–present
Career history
As player:
1996–1998Columbus Quest
1999Minnesota Lynx
20002001Phoenix Mercury
20012002Charlotte Sting
As coach:
1990–1995Northwestern Community HS
2005Chicago Blaze
2006–2008Detroit (assistant)
2008–2015Alcorn State
20162018Los Angeles Sparks (assistant)
2021–PresentChicago Sky (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As assistant coach:

Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Representing the  United States
Jones Cup
Gold medal – first place 1987 Taipei Team Competition
Silver medal – second place 1988 Taipei Team Competition

Professional career edit

After graduating from college, there were no opportunities to play professional basketball in the U.S., so Edwards played professionally in Spain from 1991 to '92, Turkey in 1994, and Israel from 1995 to '96. In the Autumn of 1996, she played for the Columbus Quest in the American Basketball League (ABL), and won two championship titles with them. In 1998, Edwards became the interim head coach for the Quest after coach Brian Agler resigned. After the ABL folded due to financial difficulties, Edwards was selected by the Minnesota Lynx in the 1999 WNBA draft. She also played for the Phoenix Mercury and Charlotte Sting.[citation needed]

Edwards began her coaching career by returning to her alma mater, Northwestern Community High School in Flint, Michigan, for five seasons (1990–1995). She guided her team to the 1993 state championship with perfect 28–0 record, a 1992 state champion runner-up finish, and compiled a 78-23 overall record (.772). She was named 1993 "High School Coach of the Year" in the state of Michigan.[citation needed]

In 2004, she became a radio commentator for the Phoenix Mercury games, and later became an assistant coach in the National Women's Basketball League.[citation needed]

In 2006, she was inducted to the Greater Flint Afro-American Hall of Fame. That same year, she was named as an assistant coach to the women's basketball team at University of Detroit Mercy.[citation needed]

After two years at Detroit, Edwards was head coach at Alcorn State from 2008 to 2015. Edwards was SWAC Coach of the Year in 2011 and led Alcorn State to the SWAC Championship Game in 2012.[3] In seven seasons, Edwards went 60–147 at Alcorn State.[4] On March 23, 2015, Alcorn State announced it would not extend Edwards' contract, which would expire at the end of the month.[5]

WNBA career statistics edit

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

Regular season edit

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
1999 Minnesota 32 32 32.2 .357 .344 .806 3.5 2.6 0.8 0.4 2.1 14.8
2000 Phoenix 32 32 28.9 .376 .307 .782 2.4 1.8 1.1 0.3 2.0 10.6
2001 Phoenix 10 9 20.8 .366 .357 .787 1.9 1.8 0.5 0.1 2.2 9.4
2001 Charlotte 22 0 16.9 .340 .227 .730 2.0 1.4 0.6 0.3 1.8 4.5
2002 Charlotte 29 0 10.4 .364 .280 .717 1.4 0.8 0.6 0.1 0.6 3.9
Career 4 years, 3 teams 125 73 22.7 .362 .322 .775 2.3 1.7 0.8 0.2 1.7 9.0

Playoffs edit

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2000 Phoenix 2 2 30.5 .250 .231 .667 3.0 2.5 2.0 0.0 1.0 8.5
2001 Charlotte 8 0 14.9 .429 .500 1.000 2.0 1.5 0.6 0.0 1.4 2.8
2002 Charlotte 2 0 9.5 .200 .333 .000 0.5 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.5 1.5
Career 3 years, 2 teams 12 2 16.6 .326 .300 .600 1.9 1.5 0.8 0.0 1.2 3.5

USA Basketball edit

Edwards was named to the team representing the US at the 1987 William Jones Cup competition in Taipei, Taiwan. The team won all seven games to win the gold medal for the event. The USA was down at halftime in the opening game against Japan, but came back in the second half to win, helped by 15 points from Campbell. Edwards was the second leading scorer on the team, averaging 12.4 points per game over the seven games. She was one of three players from the USA team to be named to the Jones Cup All-Tournament Team.[6]

In the following year, 1988, Edwards was also named to the Jones Cup team. The USA team was not as successful, with a 3–2 record, but that was enough to secure the silver medal. Edwards was the leading scorer on the team, averaging 15.4 points per game, and tied for the team lead in steals with 15.[7]

Head coaching record edit

Edwards' score are as following:[8]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Alcorn State Lady Braves (Southwestern Athletic Conference) (2008–2015)
2008–09 Alcorn State 5–26 4–14 10th
2009–10 Alcorn State 8–20 8–10 T–6th
2010–11 Alcorn State 13–15 12–6 3rd
2011–12 Alcorn State 14–20 9–9 7th
2012–13 Alcorn State 2–26 2–16 10th
2013–14 Alcorn State 8–22 7–11 T–7th
2014–15 Alcorn State 10–18 9–9 6th
Alcorn State: 60–147 51–75
Total: 60–147

References edit

  1. ^ "Women's Basketball Coaches Career". NCAA. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  2. ^ "Former WNBA All-Star Tonya Edwards Joins Sky Coaching Staff". WNBA. March 22, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  3. ^ "Sparks Name Tonya Edwards As Assistant Coach". WNBA. March 16, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  4. ^ "NCAA® Career Statistics".
  5. ^ "Alcorn basketball coaches' contracts not extended". Alcorn State University Athletics. March 23, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  6. ^ "1987 Women's R. William Jones Cup". USA Basketball. June 10, 2010. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  7. ^ "1988 Women's R. William Jones Cup". USA Basketball. June 10, 2010. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  8. ^ "Southwestern Athletic Conference Standings - Women's College Basketball - ESPN".

Sources edit

  • WNBA Player Profile
  • September 11, 2006 press release on Edwards joining the University of Detroit Mercy coaching staff
  • Profile from the Greater Flint Afro-American Hall of Fame