Gregory Shamus/NBAE/Getty EDWARDS' STATISTICS 2004 PLAYOFFS 2.1 PPG 1.7 2.4 RPG 2.0 0.2 APG 0.1 0.4 SPG 0.0 0.1 BPG 0.1 11.2 MPG 7.7 .364 FG% .667

Storm Coach Anne Donovan on Simone Edwards:
"Simone's another one that came off our bench in the post that sat and sat and sat and waited her time and was last in the post rotation, but there was not one time that I went to Simone that she did not answer the call. She came through every time I called her number in crunch games, whether it was four- or five-minute stretches or 18 minutes in a game, she came through. I think Simone has come so far in her maturity and her ability to stay mentally prepared, and she helped us in many a game."

2004 Season:
During her five years with the Seattle Storm, a time that has seen the Storm go from expansion fodder to WNBA Champions, Simone Edwards has played virtually every role possible, from starter to deep reserve. 2004 saw Edwards play her smallest role, but the Storm fulfilled her ultimate team goal of winning it all.

Edwards' status during training camp was a question mark. While there was never any doubt as to Donovan's desire to have Edwards on the roster, it was not known whether the Storm could find enough room under the salary cap to keep Edwards because of her veteran salary. Eventually, Donovan was able to "get creative," in her words, and Edwards remained on the roster.

For much of the season, Edwards was the fourth post in a three-post rotation. Starters Lauren Jackson and Kamila Vodichkova and backup Janell Burse took much of the Storm's playing time up front, and Edwards played at least 10 minutes only once through July 24.

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Edwards' opportunity came first when Burse was placed on the injured list because of bursitis. She had nine points and six rebounds off the bench in back-to-back games against Houston and produced undoubtedly her best game of the season on July 30 at Minnesota, recording season highs of eight points and nine rebounds on 4-for-5 shooting in the Storm's 70-55 win. She followed that with eight rebounds in the Storm's blowout win over Charlotte to conclude its pre-break schedule.

When Jackson went onto the injured list after the Olympics with a right mid-foot sprain, Edwards replaced her in the starting lineup and logged heavy minutes with Burse still ailing. Replacing the defending MVP in the lineup proved challenging for Edwards, and she shot 3-for-17 in three starts, though she did pull down 16 boards.

En route to the WNBA title, Edwards had a fine postseason. She had four points and made both shot attempts in 10 minutes at Minnesota in Game 1 when Jackson was bothered by foul trouble. During Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, Edwards played an energizer role, pulling down eight rebounds (five of them offensive) in eight minutes as the Storm nearly came from behind at Connecticut. In the deciding Game 3, Edwards had six points and four rebounds in 14 minutes of action and was instrumental in the Storm's 74-60 win. "That's the moment I've been waiting for," Edwards told the Seattle Times. "Nobody forgets a championship team."
- Kevin Pelton, storm.wnba.com

2004 Highlights: