CHENGDU, China — The final scoreboard read USA 20, Germany 18. The tournament MVP trophy went to Mikaylah Williams. The headlines followed the clutch shots — Williams’ go-ahead two-pointer, Sahara Williams’ insurance tip-in in the closing seconds of a breathless championship game at Jiaozi Music Square.
But buried inside those 20 championship points was a performance from South Carolina’s Joyce Edwards that demands its own separate accounting.
She didn’t need to score twenty points to change a game. She just needed to be efficient, physical, and unrelenting at the rim — and in the most important ten minutes USA Basketball played all weekend in Chengdu, Joyce Edwards was exactly that.
The United States prevailed in the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series 2026 Chengdu stop after a hard-fought 20-18 victory over Germany in a dramatic final on Saturday — marking USA’s first FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series stop win since 2024, and the first for this current roster.
Edwards finished the championship game against Germany with 7 points, 3 rebounds, and a masterclass in interior efficiency — going 7-of-9 from the one-point line. In the compressed, relentless format of 3×3 basketball, where a 12-second shot clock demands instant decision-making and every possession is a premium commodity, a player converting at that rate from inside is not just productive — she is a cheat code. Edwards didn’t force anything. She took what the defense gave her, executed with the calm of a veteran, and delivered the kind of statistical foundation that allowed Mikaylah Williams to do what she did in the closing moments.
Germany leaned on their size advantage early, with Ama Degbeon anchoring the inside presence, while Victoria Poros kept them within striking distance from deep. USA, however, had the answer in Mikaylah Williams, who delivered a superstar performance with 10 points. With the game hanging in the balance, she knocked down a clutch two-pointer to give USA a late 19-18 lead before Sahara Williams added the insurance tip-in. Germany had their chances in the closing seconds, but USA held firm to seal the crucial win.
Edwards’ role in that final was exactly what this team needed her to be — a relentless interior presence whose 7/9 conversion rate kept the scoreboard moving and kept Germany’s defense from collapsing entirely onto Williams. Great teams need multiple dimensions. Edwards was the dimension Germany never fully solved.
The Road To Gold Was Anything But Smooth
USA’s path to the title was anything but easy. They edged past Amsterdam 20-18 in the Quarter-Finals behind a strong showing from Joyce Edwards, before surviving a thriller against Poland in the Semi-Finals, 21-20. In that game, USA showed resilience, with MiLaysia Fulwiley delivering the game-winning floater after a back-and-forth battle that went down to the wire.
That semi-final moment from Fulwiley — ice in her veins, game on the line, delivering the decisive floater — was the shot that kept USA’s championship dreams alive. It was also the shot that perfectly encapsulated everything this roster had already told the world about who they are and how they compete.
The Championship Mindset They Brought To Chengdu
The culture of this four-player squad runs deeper than a single tournament. Fulwiley and Williams, LSU teammates who arrived in Chengdu already forged by daily competition and a shared championship obsession, had made their collective ethos plain before the first pool game was ever played.
“Our whole team is competitive and that’s what makes us special,” Fulwiley said. “We’ve taught each other to all be a team and really buy in, which takes work from all of us. We all want to do our part so we can win in the end.”
Williams echoed that conviction with equal force: “We want to do this for one another. We like each other. We want to win together, the right way. The more reps we can get together, build that culture and connectivity — it’s only going to propel us forward. We’re family.”
Family. In Chengdu, that word became a trophy.
The Individual Brilliance That Made It Possible
Mikaylah Williams was the undisputed star of the tournament, earning MVP honors after averaging 7.6 points per game along with 4.6 rebounds per game. She delivered consistently throughout the event and rose to the occasion in the Final with a clutch scoring display.
But championships are never built on one player alone. Edwards’ interior dominance — particularly her stunning 7/9 shooting efficiency in the final — created the offensive structure around which Williams’ star performance was made possible. Fulwiley’s game-winning floater against Poland was the act of survival that made the final happen. Sahara Williams’ insurance tip-in sealed it.
Four players. Four distinct roles. One championship. One flag. 🇺🇸🏀
