South Carolina women's basketball continues to shine on the world stage. 

Recently, three Gamecocks participated and medaled in the 2025 FIBA Women’s Americup. Joyce Edwards, Kamilla Cardoso and Ayla McDowell represented their countries with pride and left the tournament with new hardware. 

Edwards helped lead the U.S. to the top spot on the podium after beating Cardoso and McDowell’s Brazil team in the gold medal match. It was her third gold medal in three international contests. 

She also competed in the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup and the 2024 FIBA U18 AmeriCup, earning MVP honors for her play. 

Edwards played in all seven of Team USA’s games in the 2025 AmeriCup, averaging 10 points and six rebounds while shooting 40% from the floor. She had 11 points and seven rebounds in the gold medal match. 

Cardoso took a break from WNBA action to be the star for Brazil and pushed the team into the championship contest against the U.S. She averaged a tournament best in rebounds, with 10 per game, and field goal percentage, shooting 68% from the floor. In the gold medal game, she led her country with 19 points.

The current Chicago Sky Center played in three other international contests in her career, medaling for Brazil in all of them. She was the MVP during the 2023 FIBA AmeriCup after leading Brazil to gold. She was also on Brazil’s 2022 FIBA South America Cup gold medal team and the 2021 AmeriCup bronze medal team. 

McDowell is a rising freshman preparing for her first season in a South Carolina uniform. She was one of the youngest players in the tournament, as roster spots are usually reserved for senior players older than 19. 

She saw limited action during the tournament but made four appearances. Her best game came against El Salvador in the group stage when she recorded seven points and three rebounds.

McDowell was a part of the 2024 Brazil team that won silver at the U18 Americup. She led her team in scoring and rebounds to have the second highest total in both categories among all players in the competition. 

She is also part of Brazil’s U19 World Cup team, which began action right after the AmeriCup. McDowell will see significantly more time in this competition. 

The gold medal match between the U.S. and Brazil went back and forth. The Americans took a 25-22 lead after the first quarter, but Brazil rallied and took a 47-45 lead into halftime. 

Brazil went on a 10-0 run to open the second quarter. Cardoso scored five straight points for the team during this stretch and broke a 25-25 tie. Her stellar play continued early in the third quarter, as she scored five of the team’s first nine points. Brazil went up by as many as seven points in the period before America pushed back. 

The U.S. briefly retook the lead in the third quarter before Brazil grabbed it back. In the fourth, the U.S. took the lead 90 seconds in and held on until the end. 

Edwards had some big buckets down the stretch and helped the team expand its lead. When it was all said and done, Edwards and the Americans got the better of Cardoso and the Brazilians 92-84. 

With the event over, Cardoso and Edwards will return to the States and resume their regular basketball activities. Cardoso and the Sky will look to make a late push and work their way up the WNBA standings. Edwards will shift focus to training for the upcoming Gamecocks season.