NCAAW: Joyce Edwards of South Carolina is ready for the NCAA Tournament

It’s tourney time! Soon we’ll see last-second game winners, Cinderellas emerging and favorites fall as the madness begins.

While basketball is a team sport, the stars create intrigue, and heroes and heels are born every March. Here are three players to keep an eye on as potential breakout players for this year’s tournament:

Joyce Edwards (South Carolina)

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This year, South Carolina has been the most known unknown. Gone is the allure of their winning streaks, and despite being the defending champs, they are not considered as dominant as before. Still, they’ve maintained top form, won the SEC Tournament title and enter the tournament as the No. 2 ranked team in the country.

They are far from weak, but their players don’t quite have the name recognition as the Gamecocks that came before them. A dominant tournament could change that.

Joyce Edwards is a name hardcore fans already know, but the casual viewer may be unfamiliar with her game. The freshman is leading South Carolina in scoring and is a star in the making. She’s had a stellar freshman campaign, but a big performance this March could bring her the widespread attention her play deserves.

Aziaha James (NC State)

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The NCAA Tournament attracts a lot of attention and can help certain players improve their stock heading into the WNBA Draft. As a senior, Aziaha James could use this opportunity to demonstrate that she’s a first-round talent. James is averaging 17.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game for the Wolfpack, and they’ll be a dangerous team to play during this tourney.

If they can pull off an upset against a No. 1 seed or James outplays a stacked team, it will help NC State advance and improve her potential draft projection.

She’s done similar things during the regular season. In late February, NC State defeated then-No. 1 Notre Dame, and James was sensational in that game, scoring 20 points to pull off the upset.

Hailey Van Lith (TCU)

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HVL isn’t exactly an unknown player.

But last year, she was the heel for LSU. The blame for her team’s loss to Iowa was largely placed on her shoulders as Caitlin Clark annihilated the Tigers. Her reverse MJ shurg, where she looked helpless to stop Clark, made her famous for all the wrong reasons.

A moment when a superstar got hot became more about what Van Lith couldn’t do than what Clark did. It damaged her reputation, and when she transferred to TCU, many considered her an afterthought.

However, she has come back with a vengeance. HVL is having a career year, averaging 17.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. She also helped TCU win the Big 12 title over Baylor. If she can help propel the Horned Frogs to a Sweet Sixteen finish, she can hush the critics and remind people that she’s a great player who can rise above adversity and be an impactful player for a winning program.

This trio of players will be interesting to watch when the tournament tips off. It’s going to be exciting to see how they perform in the NCAA Tournament and what other players make a name for themselves on this national stage.