Ex-Talbots standout Layrn Edwards back for final push at Loyola (Md.)

Former Hampton standout Laryn Edwards feared her college basketball career was over when her right knee gave out going up for a layup against Mount St. Mary’s in early December.

“It was just instant pain,” said Edwards, a senior point guard for Loyola (Md.). “I didn’t know what to expect. The next day it was sore and I couldn’t really straighten it, so I was kind of worried. But it ended up being not as bad as I thought it was going to be.”

An MRI two days later revealed an injured meniscus, a painful injury but one that wouldn’t require surgery and would allow her to return at some point during her final season.

“All of us really breathed a deep sigh of relief when we realized that she would be able to return to play,” Loyola first-year coach Danielle O’Banion said.

After rehabilitating for two months, the 5-foot-6 Edwards returned to the floor for the Greyhounds against Army on Feb. 2. She played 13 minutes, finishing with two points and two steals. Three days later, she played 18 minutes against Navy.

“It felt really good being back, but I was a little tentative,” Edwards said. “But after the first couple of minutes, I felt good.”

The return of Edwards, a 1,000-point scorer and second-team all-state selection at Hampton, was a boost for Loyola (4-17, 1-10 as of Feb. 8). The Greyhounds are scheduled to open play in the Patriot League women’s basketball tournament March 5.

“We are so happy to have her back,” O’Banion said. “We missed her, even more than we anticipated because she’s such a tremendous leader and communicator for our team.

“Right now, she is gaining confidence daily. She’s figured out a way to manage her discomfort. The nature of her injury is just a matter of what she can tolerate. She’s not going to do any more harm to herself by playing.”

Edwards wore a knee brace for two or three weeks and then underwent six weeks of rehabilitation involving range of motion, strengthening her knee and icing.

“It was basically my pain tolerance,” Edwards said.

She was willing to endure the discomfort to make sure she returned for the final season of a college career that had been “up and down with injuries.”

An early-season concussion and then a bout with mononucleosis limited her freshman season to seven games. Then after being a full-time starter as a sophomore, the pandemic trimmed her junior season to only 13 games. She ranked second on the Greyhounds in assists and steals as a sophomore and led the team in steals as a junior.

“It definitely motivated me because I feel like my past four years have been up and down with injuries,” Edwards said. “I didn’t want my senior season to end because of an injury.

“It’s a lot of motivation on ending the year on a positive note. This month, I will give it all I have.”

Before suffering her knee injury, Edwards had helped Loyola snap an 18-game losing streak dating to February 2020 with a 68-59 overtime victory against Fairleigh Dickinson on Nov. 21. She is one of the team’s speediest players and top defenders.

“She is a very disruptive on-ball defender, and we missed that significantly while she was away,” O’Banion said. “Whenever she told the team that she would be dressing, it was like an immediate uproar from our team. They were very excited for her personally and then really excited for our team.”

Edwards already has earned a degree in international business and is attending graduate school for management. She hopes to enter the restaurant business, and cooking is one of her hobbies. When she was back home in Hampton during the covid-wrecked summer of 2020, she decided to do something special for her parents’ 25th wedding anniversary.

“I cooked a five-course meal,” she said. “It was during covid, so everyone was home. I was like, ‘We might as well do something for them.’ I did a whole menu and made them a five-course meal.”

Now she is back cooking on the court for the final weeks of her basketball career. While Loyola has a 19-76 record in her four years as of Feb. 8, Edwards admits feeling sorrow for the looming end.

“I keep thinking about it,” she said. “We’re together seven days a week. It’s definitely going to be different. We hate getting up at 7 a.m. for a workout, but that’s the stuff we are going to miss.”