COLUMBIA — Two years ago Dawn Staley said dunking in women's basketball is getting more common."We dunk in our game ... I don't think it's anything new, it's a part of our game," Staley said in January 2024 after South Carolina forward Ashlyn Watkins threw down her second career dunk.As of April 23, Staley now has three players on her Gamecocks roster who can dunk, as she added 6-foot-3 forward Oliviyah Edwards, the No. 3 overall recruit in the Class of 2026, to join Watkins and Alicia Tournebize.Edwards most recently had highlight-worthy dunks in the McDonald's All-American Game dunk contest on March 30.
The first was with one hand then the second was two-handed that ended with her with her swinging her feet up to touch her ankles to the rim as players screamed in excitement.Oliviyah Edwards, South Carolina players dunkTournebize, who is 6-foot-7, joined the team in January after playing professionally in France. She threw down both one- and two-handed dunks then but only ever dunked in practice at South Carolina. When asked about the crowd getting excited anytime she gets the ball, she said she understands but never wants to force a dunk.Given her height advantage there were times she caught the ball around the rim but unlike Watkins, there weren't any wide-open chances for her to dunk on a fast break.Alicia Tournebize with a one hand dunk during a drill pic.twitter.com/fvaWjWQtGM— Lulu Kesin (@LuluKesin) March 20, 2026Watkins, who is 6-3, has dunked three times in her career and won the McDonald's All-American dunk contest in 2022.
Nine women have dunked in an NCAA game, including Watkins. Her first was in 2022 as a freshman against Clemson, the second was in January 2024 as a sophomore against Kentucky and the third was her junior season against TCU in December 2024.Tennessee legend Candace Parker was the first woman to dunk in a March Madness game, first to win the dunk contest and the first to dunk twice in a tournament game. Former Baylor star Brittney Griner holds the record for most dunks in the Women's NCAA Tournament with six, according to the NCAA record book.In 2022, Stanford’s Fran Belibi became just the third player in women's college history to dunk in March Madness.Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network.
Email her at LKesin@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky@bylulukesin.bsky.socialThis article originally appeared on Greenville News: Oliviyah Edwards gives Dawn Staley 3 players who can dunk on roster