Feb. 5, 2017
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Senior center Alaina Coates posted a monster stat line that included a career-high 19 rebounds to lift No. 4/6 South Carolina over Arkansas 79-49 Sunday afternoon at Bud Walton Arena. The performance marked her second-straight game with at least 15 boards for the Gamecocks, who moved to 20-2 overall and 10-1 in conference play with the win. Arkansas fell to 13-10 and 2-8 against SEC foes following the loss.
Coates finished the contest with 18 points, four assists and two steals to go along with her career-best rebound total. She converted four field goals in the opening quarter and nearly boasted a double-double in the first period after finishing with nine boards and eight points through 10 minutes. Carolina junior forward A’ja Wilson shot 8-of-9 from the free throw line on the way to 18 points, while junior guards Kaela Davis, Allisha Gray and Bianca Cuevas-Moore each tallied 10 points to round out the group of Gamecocks to reach double figures. Carolina shot a blistering 18-of-20 from the charity stripe and held a 40-18 advantage in points in the paint behind Coates and Wilson’s big afternoons.
The Gamecocks used Davis’ hot shooting start from deep and their size inside to jump out to a 13-2 lead midway through the first period. Davis knocked down near-identical 3-pointers from the right wing off passes from freshman guard Tyasha Harris to stretch the Carolina advantage to 7-0 before the Gamecocks worked the ball inside to Coates. The senior converted three layups over the next two minutes, with her third basket pushing the advantage to double digits with 5:28 left in the quarter. Carolina’s defense was stout from the start, and the Razorbacks opened the contest 2-of-14 from the floor. Arkansas had no answer for Coates in the early going, and the center’s fourth field goal of the afternoon made it 19-5 with 2:10 to play in the period. Coates controlled the glass out of the gate, grabbing nine of Carolina’s first 11 boards, and she finished the quarter with eight points on 4-of-4 shooting. Davis also totaled eight points in the quarter for the Gamecocks, who headed into the first break leading 21-10.
Gray opened the second quarter on a torrid pace, netting seven points in the first two minutes of the period. An offensive rebound from the junior set her up for a layup that made it 23-12, and the guard’s 3-pointer from the left wing extended the cushion to 26-14 with 8:28 left in the first half. Gray’s steal less than 20 seconds later led to her uncontested layup on the break to make it 28-14 for a Gamecock team that continued to score down low with ease. Wilson’s put-back put Carolina in front by 15 at 31-16, and a pinpoint entry pass from Coates set up another bucket inside from the junior to give the Gamecocks a 33-16 lead with just under six minutes left in the quarter. The two hooked up for another basket when Coates again found Wilson, who collected the pass in stride and laid it in to reach double figures for the game. Coates’ productive play resulted in a first-half double-double when Gray found the senior down low to give her 10 points to go along with her double-digit rebound total. The layup made it 39-23 with 2:54 remaining in the quarter, and Harris’ fourth assist of the half set up another field goal by the Carolina frontcourt. Gamecock freshman forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan sparked the scoring play when she hustled to save the ball from going out of bounds and delivered a pass to Harris, who returned the favor and found Herbert Harrigan for a jumper. The freshman forward’s first basket gave the Gamecocks a 41-25 advantage, and they took a 43-25 lead into the locker room following a pair of free throws from Harris in the final minute. Carolina, which shot 51.5 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, limited Arkansas to just two free throws in the first half and scored 13 points off seven Razorback turnovers.
The Gamecock frontcourt continued to pick apart the Arkansas defense out of the half, and a basket from Coates followed by a nice drive inside and layup by Wilson made it 47-28 less than two minutes into the third period. Carolina’s lead grew to 20 at 50-30 when Gray connected on a 3-pointer from the right wing with just over seven minutes left in the quarter. The basket marked the start of an 11-0 Gamecock run that stretched the advantage to 58-30 midway through the period. Carolina’s frontcourt capped off the run in style when the high-low game of Wilson and Coates culminated in a layup for Wilson to make it an 18-point cushion. The pair of Gamecocks accounted for 14 of the team’s 23 third-quarter points, and Carolina entered the final break with a 66-34 lead after holding the Razorbacks to just one field goal on their final 11 shot attempts of the period.
Baskets inside from Coates and Herbert Harrigan made it 70-37 with less than eight minutes to play, and a pair of free throws by Cuevas-Moore put the Gamecocks in front 72-49 with 2:06 remaining. Carolina maintained a lead of at least 20 the rest of the way and closed the game on a 9-0 run.
The Gamecocks did not trail for one second in the game and finished the afternoon with 22 points off turnovers and a 46-30 rebound advantage. Carolina knocked down five 3-pointers and shot 48.3 percent from the floor for the game.
GAMECHANGER
After an Arkansas 3-pointer out of the half cut the Gamecock lead to 15, Carolina responded with 15 of the game’s next 17 points to build a 58-30 lead with 4:31 to play in the third quarter. Senior center Alaina Coates and junior forward A’ja Wilson accounted for 12 points during the stretch.
KEY STAT
Carolina’s size inside was the difference Sunday, as the Gamecocks sported a 40-16 advantage in points in the paint and outrebounded the Razorbacks 46-30 for the afternoon.
NOTABLES
- The Gamecocks have boasted a double-digit win total in SEC play in each of the last six seasons.
- Carolina has held a lead of 20 or more points in six of its 11 SEC contests this year.
- Senior center Alaina Coates’ 19 rebounds against the Razorbacks were the most by an SEC player this season.
- Sunday marked the first time in SEC play this season that five Gamecocks reached double figures.
- Carolina’s 90 percent (18-of-20) shooting from the free throw line was a season high.
UP NEXT
The Gamecocks return to action on Thu. Feb. 9, at home against Auburn. Tipoff from Colonial Life Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the contest can be seen on SEC Network+ through WatchESPN.
