Former national women’s basketball player Simone Edwards has died. She died at her home in Florida after a long battle with illness.

The 49-year-old Edwards, who is a former player of the Seattle Storm in the Women National Basketball Association (WNBA), was diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer some time ago. She is the first Jamaican woman to sign with a WNBA team.

Edwards won the WNBA Championship with the Storm in 2004 before announcing her retirement from the sport in May 2006.

President of the Jamaica Basketball Association (JaBA) Paulton Gordon said his organisation is deeply saddened by Edwards’ passing.

“We are very saddened by her passing but we know that she has been ill for a while and we were hoping for the best,” said Gordon. “Condolences to her family, friends… the Jamaica Basketball Association is very supportive of her family … we have lost somebody who is a really good person for basketball,” he said.

Edwards coached the Jamaican women’s national basketball team and led them to the 2014 Caribbean Championship.

She was hired as an assistant coach at Radford University in 2007. Edwards was an assistant at George Mason University from 2008-2011.