Alaina Coates Named SEC Freshman of the Week

Jan. 6, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina center Alaina Coates (Irmo, S.C./Dutch Fork) earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors, the league office announced today. As the Gamecocks opened conference play last week, she became the first South Carolina freshman to start her SEC career with back-to-back double-doubles. This is Coates’ second SEC Freshman of the Week award.

In her SEC debut, Coates continued her trend of double-doubles with 11 points and 12 rebounds at Arkansas while tying the South Carolina freshman record with five blocked shots. She posted seven points and seven rebounds in the second half alone to help the Gamecocks hold off the late-charging Razorbacks. She joined Shaunzinski Gortman (1999-2002) as the only South Carolina freshmen to post a double-double in their SEC debut.

Coates followed that game with a career-high 24 points to go with her 10 rebounds in the win over Vanderbilt. Her 11 field goals in the game tied for second most by a freshman in school history She scored eight of her 14 first-half points during the last six minutes of the period to help the Gamecocks pull out an 11-point lead at the break.

With eight blocks in two games last week, Coates already ranks fourth in program history for blocks in a season by a freshman with 31. She is just 11 shy of the freshman record and 12 short of making the overall single-season top 10.

No. 10 South Carolina is back in action on Thu., Jan. 9, hosting No. 9 Kentucky at Colonial Life Arena at 7 p.m.