Dec. 20, 2016
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina senior center Alaina Coates garnered two weekly honors Tuesday, as she was tabbed the SEC and USBWA National Player of the Week. The Irmo, S.C., native posted back-to-back double-doubles last week to lead the No. 6/6 Gamecocks (9-1) to home wins over Clemson and No. 9/9 UCLA.
Coates was instrumental in Carolina’s 66-57 victory over the Bruins this past Sunday, scoring 11 of her game-high 20 points in the third quarter to help the Gamecocks establish a double-digit advantage through three periods. The performance marked her second 20-point performance this season and gave her an SEC-leading seventh double-double. Coates imposed her will down low against the Tigers on Dec. 15 with 19 points and 10 boards, the 10th of which moved her into second on Carolina’s all-time rebounding list.
The senior leads the league and ranks fifth in Division I in field goal percentage (.682) this year, and her 11.1 rebounds per game stand as the 10th-best mark among DI players. Coates has led the team in rebounding seven times, and she has recorded a double-double in each of Carolina’s three contests against top-10 foes. Her career-high 15.2 points per game so far this season ranks second among Gamecocks, and she is also a force on the defensive end with 1.9 blocks per game, the fourth-best mark in the SEC.
The Gamecocks close out their pre-holiday slate with a road contest against Savannah State on Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game can be seen through an online stream with a paid subscription.
