Nov. 2, 2014

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COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 2 South Carolina scored early and often in a 100-25 win over Coker College in the Gamecocks’ lone exhibition contest of the season Sunday afternoon at Colonial Life Arena. Freshman A’ja Wilson led all scorers with 18 points while also collecting a game-high 10 rebounds.

Wilson drained a pair of free throws on the first possession of the game, and South Carolina netted points on nine of its first 11 possessions. Wilson and senior Aleighsa Welch went to work in the paint, combining for 10 points in the initial run of the afternoon that produced an 18-5 lead just 6:30 into the game.

Midway through the first half, sophomore Alaina Coates went on a run of her own, posting three straight baskets down low, all assisted by junior Tina Roy, to push the score to 24-5.

With just under six minutes to go in the half, South Carolina made a line change, putting five new players on the court. Freshman Bianca Cuevas drained a jumper and the Gamecocks’ first 3-pointer of the game on back-to-back possessions to put the Gamecocks up 41-6.

On the following play, Cobra senior Kelley Godbout hit a jumper at the 4:36 mark to end a nearly 11-minute stretch without a Coker basket. During the drought, South Carolina went on a 27-1 run to open a 41-8 lead.

The Gamecocks took a 51-13 advantage in to halftime and scored the first nine baskets out of the break to take an even stronger hold on the game at 69-15. The cushion allowed South Carolina to employ several different combinations and to get every player on the court on the way to a 100-25 win.

GAMECHANGER

Coker did not register a basket for a nearly 11-minute stretch that ended with 4:36 on the clock in the first half. The drought allowed the Gamecocks to go on a 27-1 run and put the game away.

KEY STAT

The Gamecocks looked to manufacture easy points today and did just that, netting 66 points in the paint and 28 fast-break points.

NOTABLES

• Led by sophomore Alaina Coates’ 16 points, the South Carolina bench scored 50 points.
• The Gamecocks scored on 48 of 68 possessions.
• South Carolina pulled down 18 offensive rebounds, including eight from freshman A’ja Wilson. The effort led to 23 second-chance points.
• Coker turned the ball over 17 times, leading to 28 Gamecock points.
• The Gamecocks played everyone available to them with 13 of the 14 registering points.
• On the glass, South Carolina more than doubled up the Cobras, winning the rebound battle 55-26.

TWEETS OF THE GAME

Nice crowd at the @CLAmktg for the @GamecockWBB exhibition game. Look great! Go #Gamecocks. Beat #CokerCollege pic.twitter.com/eLKInnZBdr

— Aisha Haynes (@aishahaynes) November 2, 2014

Spending my afternoon watching the #2 team in the country, nbd. Happy to have @GamecockWBB back in play! pic.twitter.com/8JML6bV8N5

— Abby Hunt (@abstractabs) November 2, 2014

QUOTABLE

South Carolina Head Coach Dawn Staley
“I thought all through the first half we did a pretty good job of just having the energy and the intensity that we play with night-in and night-out. We did play a lot more zone in the second half because of the score, which is something we’ve been playing with as well. I thought it got better as the half went on and hopefully we can get pretty solid at both areas.”

UP NEXT

The Gamecocks host Southern California in the regular-season opener on Sat., Nov. 15, with coverage on SEC Network+. Game time has yet to be announced but is expected to come on Monday. Stay tuned to GamecocksOnline.com for updates.