Aaliyah Edwards didn't shy away from some tough competition in her WNBA debut.
Though it wasn't the loudest debut for the Kingston, Ont. native, she managed to showcase her two-way abilities as the Washington Mystics lost a tight 85-80 game to the New York Liberty, one of the title favourites coming into the season.
She finished with six points, two rebounds and a strong block on five-time all-star Courtney Vandersloot. She shot 2-for-4 from the field and hit both her attempts at the free-throw line.
Drafted as the sixth overall pick in the 2024 draft in April, her strength down low on both ends made her one of the most highly-regarded prospects in a loaded class.
She packed the boxscore in her pre-season debut against the Atlanta Dream on May 4, finishing with six points, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
However, with the regular season starting on Tuesday and games meaning that much more, she showed a similar level of impact and was trusted as a key piece coming off the bench for Washington.
She logged the second-most minutes for a substitute and had the best plus/minus off the bench with minus-2.
In the time that she was on, she matched up against perennial all-stars such as two-time MVP Breanna Stewart and one-time MVP Jonquel Jones, some more-than-worthy adversaries.
Though Jones finished with a game-high 25 points, Stewart was held to only eight points on 3-for-9 from the field.
Edwards has another big test ahead of her as the Mystics take on the Connecticut Sun and two-time all-star Brionna Jones on Friday, May 17.
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