Dani Edwards knew Sunday was going to be a special day, she just did not know how special.
Prior to her final game at Littlejohn Coliseum, the Clemson senior received a text from her twin brother, Drew, who plays basketball at Providence. Drew told her he was not going to be able to watch the game because the Friars had a one o’clock practice, the same time the Tigers were going to play Virginia Tech.
Dani was of course disappointed, but she understood. Then, she looked up and thought she saw Drew and their older brother, Darryle, who is a graduate assistant coach at Providence.
“I thought I saw them when they walked in,” Dani said after Clemson’s 73-66 victory over the Hokies. “I was like, ‘that can’t be them because Drew just texted me, my twin, and he will be in practice. He can’t watch the game.’
“Then I saw another guy who was kind of tall walk behind him and I was like, ‘are those my brothers?’ Then they walked down to the court and Keniece Purvis, are other senior, she kind of helped organize the surprise. Once I saw them, it was tears from there.”
At the time, Dani was stretching and trying to loosen up for the game.
“It was not the best time, but I was happy to see them,” she said smiling.
It was a special moment for Dani and her family, who got to watch her play her final game at Littlejohn Coliseum. They got to see her score 14 points and dish out nine assists as the Tigers rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to beat Virginia Tech in a game that quite possibly sealed an NCAA bid for Clemson.
It also clinched the Tigers’ first winning season in ACC play since the 2001-’02 season.
Clemson (18-10) improved to 9-6 in the ACC. Prior to this season, Edwards and the rest of the seniors were 4-44 in conference play. Now, with one game to go in the regular season, they have an opportunity to win 10 ACC games.
“Having the Orange Brigade here, all the students and fans that really support us, and even the people that were there through the hard times, to have them there and to send them off was a really special time for us,” Dani said.
Dani scored nine of her 14 points in the second half, including a corner three-pointer with 2:57 to play that gave the Tigers a 61-57 lead and momentum. The senior guard’s special day continued from there.
She tallied six steals to go with her 14 points and nine assists. She had three rebounds, was 7-of-7 from the foul line and turned the basketball over just one time all afternoon.
“It was special. That is all I can say about today. It was very special,” Dani said.
And with her brothers there to watch, it made it even more special.
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