Feb. 9, 2017
COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 6/6 South Carolina moved past Auburn 60-41 behind a strong defensive performance and efficient shooting nights from senior center Alaina Coates and junior forward A’ja Wilson Thursday night at Colonial Life Arena. The pair of frontcourt standouts combined for 33 points to pace a Gamecock squad that moved to 21-2 overall and 11-1 in SEC play with the victory. Auburn sits at 15-10 and 5-6 in conference action following the loss.
The Gamecocks remained solid defensively throughout the night, and Carolina held the Tigers to single-digit points in three of the first four quarters. Auburn shot 29.9 percent from the floor and had just two players score more than five points. Wilson finished with 17 points, while Coates added 16 on 7-of-9 shooting to go along with a game-best nine boards. The Gamecocks outscored Auburn 34-6 in the paint and totaled 14 second-chance points. Junior guard Kaela Davis, who made three of Carolina’s five 3-pointers, tallied 11 points to join Wilson and Coates in double figures.
Carolina’s first six points came from the 3-point line, with Davis connecting from the right corner before freshman guard Tyasha Harris converted from straightaway to put the Gamecocks in front 6-3 less than two minutes into the game. Coates carried the offense over the next five minutes with three field goals in the paint to make it 12-7 Carolina with 3:28 to play in the first quarter. Junior guard Allisha Gray provided the assist on each basket, sending in great entry passes to set the center up on the right block, and a bucket in transition from Wilson stretched the Gamecock lead back to five at 14-9 before the teams headed to the first break. The scoring play was set up by a timely block on the other end by freshman forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, who did a good job of protecting the rim in the early going. Carolina’s defense improved down the stretch, and the Tigers missed eight of their last nine field goal attempts of the quarter and didn’t record a point in the final 2:23 of the period.
The Gamecock frontcourt provided the offense for Carolina in the opening stages of the second quarter, scoring six of the team’s first eight points of the period. Herbert Harrigan’s jumper from the free throw line made it 16-9, and a series of crisp passes set up Coates for another easy bucket down low to give Carolina a 20-12 advantage with 6:14 remaining in the first half. The unit continued to rack up points inside for a Gamecock team that scored 16 of its first 24 points in the paint. A tip-in from Wilson followed by Coates’ fifth field goal of the half established a 24-16 Gamecock lead with just over four minutes left in the period, and Carolina took its largest lead of the game when Davis knocked down her second 3-pointer of the night to make it 27-16 a minute later. The Gamecock defense bested its first-quarter performance and held Auburn scoreless over the final 4:27 of the quarter to help send Carolina into the locker room with a 29-16 cushion. Coates netted 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting through the first 20 minutes, while Gray’s productive half passing the ball resulted in four assists for the junior.
A 3-pointer from Davis again opened the scoring for the Gamecocks to make it 32-16, and a great look from the junior in transition led to a layup by Gray that made it a 20-point lead at 38-18 with 7:46 to play in the third quarter. Wilson began to establish herself on the offensive end with three early buckets in the quarter, the last of which put her in double figures and put Carolina in front 40-21. The lead grew to 44-21 midway through the period when Coates converted Carolina’s first free throw of the night, and Wilson’s first point from the line made it 47-24 with 2:17 to play in the quarter. The Gamecocks remained tough on the defensive end against an Auburn team that shot just 3-of-12 in the quarter and made one basket over the final six minutes of the period. Wilson capped off an impressive quarter with a layup off a heads up pass from Davis to tally her ninth point of the period and send the Gamecocks into the final break leading 49-25.
Coates’ jumper early in the fourth quarter marked her seventh field goal and gave the senior at least 15 points for the third-straight game. The basket made it 51-28 before another bucket from Wilson put the Gamecocks ahead 53-32 with 5:15 left in the game. Wilson and Coates combined for 17-second half points for Carolina, which maintained a lead of at least 15 for the remainder of the contest.
The Gamecocks sported a 30-21 rebound advantage and shot 56.8 percent from the floor. Carolina’s starters accounted for 56 of the team’s 60 points, with Cliney and Herbert Harrigan both adding a field goal off the bench.
The Gamecocks held the Lady Vols to three 3-pointers and shot 45.9 percent from the floor. Tennessee boasted a 38-26 advantage in points in the paint, while Carolina held a 36-28 advantage on the glass.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Dawn Staley
On if Carolina stressed more patience on offense against Auburn’s zone defense
“We did. We just wanted to see how they came out and played it today. They actually packed it in. I thought they would play it a little bit more aggressive, and at times they did do that. We just wanted to be patient and reverse the ball a few times and find where we could get ahead of the possession and get easier shots.”
GAMECHANGER
The Gamecocks built a double-digit halftime lead of 29-16 after holding the Tigers scoreless for the final 4:27 of the second quarter. Auburn made just six field goals throughout the first half.
KEY STAT
Carolina held a 34-6 advantage in points in the paint after having little trouble scoring down low throughout the night. The Gamecocks have outscored opponents in the paint in 19 of their 23 games this season.
NOTABLES
- Thursday marked the 10th time this season Carolina held an opponent to less than 30.0 percent shooting from the floor.
- Gamecock senior center Alaina Coates has shot 79.3 percent (23-of-29) over her last three games.
- Carolina junior Allisha Gray’s six assists against the Tigers were the most for the guard in an SEC game. Four of her assists Thursday came in the first half.
- A’ja Wilson has reached double figures in 19 of her 21 games played in her junior season. The forward has finished with at least 15 points in seven of her 10 contests against SEC foes.
UP NEXT
Carolina closes out its non-conference slate on Mon., Feb. 13, at No. 1/1 UConn. Tipoff between the Gamecocks and Huskies on Big Monday is set for 9 p.m. ET, and the contest will air on ESPN2.
