Jan. 26, 2015

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COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 1/1 South Carolina used its depth and size to wear down No. 12/10 Texas A&M in a 79-61victory Monday night at Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks (19-0, 7-0 SEC) used aggressive defense to generate one big run in each half to distance the Aggies and out-rebounded them 43-29, including 32 defensive boards on 44 missed Aggie shots. Alaina Coates notched her eighth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while freshman A’ja Wilson narrowly missed one with a team-high 18 points and nine boards.

The first half see-sawed back and forth with both teams putting together short runs to take three-point leads throughout the first 12 minutes. Trailing 24-20 with 7:57 to play, the Gamecocks’ defense locked down to launch a 14-0 run behind a 5:00 scoring drought for the Aggies. South Carolina forced a series of turnovers and capitalized in transition to put Texas A&M on its heels.

Wilson started the run on the offensive end with a spin move, and Tina Roy turned a Coates defensive rebound into a bucket on the other end to tie the game at 24-24. Coates and Wilson continued to work on the offensive end while Khadijah Sessions and Tiffany Mitchell turned up the defensive pressure, forcing three straight Texas A&M turnovers. Seniors Aleighsa Welch and Elem Ibiam got in on the action with back-to-back buckets, the last of which put South Carolina up 34-24 with 3:10 to go in the half. Jordan Jones’ 3 ended the 5:00 scoreless stretch for the Aggies, but Wilson and Welch went right back to work to take a 39-31 lead into the break.

The second half opened with the Aggies hitting jumpers and the Gamecocks struggling from the field. The lull allowed Texas A&M back in the game, closing to within 40-38 on a Jones 3 with 16:47 to play. South Carolina went to its leader to steady the ship, and Mitchell delivered, turning her aggressive offense into free throws on consecutive possessions to stretch the Gamecock lead back to 44-38.

Both teams continued to be aggressive on the offensive end, suffering through turnovers in their drive for easy baskets. South Carolina took advantage of quick strikes off defensive rebounds to push its lead back to double digits with just under 14:00 to play. The Aggies scored on the next two possessions, but Welch’s rebounding and a clutch 3 from Roy got the Gamecocks out of danger and back to a 10-point lead. From there, the Gamecocks continued to take advantage of their depth and size, pushing the lead to as high as 22 with 2:24 to go before recording the 79-61 win.

In addition to her double-double, Coates also matched a career high with three assists in just 23 minutes of play. Wilson’s game-high 18 points put her in double figures for the fifth time in seven SEC contests. Coates and Wilson made the best of their opportunities at the free throw line, each posting a 6-of-8 mark. Mitchell scored 16, going 6-of-6 from the free throw line and adding three assists. Welch also reached double figures, netting 12 to go along with seven boards. Sessions equaled her career high, swiping four of the Gamecocks’ nine steals.

GAME CHANGER

After Texas A&M closed within two at 40-38 with 16:47 to play, Tiffany Mitchell attacked the basket on the next two possessions and hit all four of the resulting free throws. South Carolina’s defense then forced four turnovers on the Aggies’ next five possessions to take a 10-point lead three minutes later.

KEY STAT The Gamecocks’ aggressiveness and size resulted in more made free throws than Texas A&M attempted. South Carolina was 24-of-30 from the line while the Aggies went 10-of-16.

NOTABLES

• Tonight’s win was South Carolina’s 27th straight at home, tying UConn for the longest active home win streak in the nation.
• South Carolina limited Texas A&M to just 32.4 percent shooting in the second half after the Aggies hit 46.4 percent in the first.
• Sophomore center Alaina Coates built her double-double largely in the second half, with nine points and seven boards during the period.
• Junior guard Khadijah Sessions set the tone defensively right out of the gate and finished the game with four steals, tying her career high.
• The crowd of 13,546 was the third-largest of the season for the Gamecocks, who have drawn 10,000+ six times in nine home games this season.

QUOTABLE South Carolina Head Coach Dawn Staley

On overall performance
“I thought we came out just really focused at the task at hand. Of course, we want to go inside and I thought we did that. I thought Tiffany Mitchell just played with an incredible amount of focus on both sides of the ball. I think she led us. Khadijah Sessions did an excellent job picking the ball up and pressuring their point guard, disrupting them at the start of the game. When we are defending like that, I know it creates offense from our defense. It was great to see us do that.”

UP NEXT

The Gamecocks continue their stretch of three games in seven days with home contest against Alabama on Thursday. The SEC Network+ will provide coverage of the 7 p.m. game from Colonial Life Arena. The stretch ends with a Sunday 4:30 p.m. tilt at Ole Miss on ESPNU.

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