Three Gamecocks Taken in WNBA Draft 2017 First Round
April 13, 2017
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Three members of the National Champion South Carolina Gamecocks were selected in the first round of WNBA Draft 2017 presented by State Farm Thursday night at Samsung 837 in New York. Senior center Alaina Coates became the highest pick in program history, selected No. 2 by the Chicago Sky. Junior guards Allisha Gray and Kaela Davis stayed teammates with the Dallas Wings selecting them fourth and 10th, respectively.
Nine Gamecocks all-time have been selected in the WNBA Draft, including five during head coach Dawn Staley’s tenure with this year’s draftees joining Aleighsa Welch (2015) and Tiffany Mitchell (2016). Prior to the 2017 draft, South Carolina had three first-round picks all-time, all coming in the No. 9 position — Mitchell (2016, Indiana), Jocelyn Penn (2003, Charlotte) and Shaunzinski Gortman (2002, Charlotte).
A four-time All-SEC selection, Coates finished her four seasons as the program’s all-time leader in career field goal percentage (.620) and career defensive rebounds (850). She is second in career rebounds (1230), double-doubles (57) and blocked shots (210) and has seven other top-10 entries in the Gamecocks’ career record book, including ranking 10th in scoring (1603). Coates became just the third Gamecock all-time to amass 1,000 career points and rebounds and the first since 1980-81 to collect 50 career double-doubles. She is the fourth Gamecock to accrue 1,500 career points playing every season in the SEC and the 12th overall to hit that mark. In 2016-17, Coates averaged a double-double overall (12.9 ppg/10.7 rpg), in SEC action (12.7 ppg/11.1 rpg) and against ranked opponents (11.8 ppg/11.4 rpg).
Davis enjoyed just one season as a Gamecock after transferring into the program from Georgia Tech, and her presence helped deliver South Carolina’s first NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship in 2017. The NCAA Stockton Regional Most Outstanding Player averaged 15.5 points in the NCAA Tournament, and her 16.3 points per game on 50.0 percent shooting in the SEC Tournament helped deliver the Gamecocks’ third straight title at the event. Four of her eight 20-point games came in the postseason, including both games of the Stockton Regional.
Gray was the Gamecocks’ most consistent guard as she quietly amassed 29 double-figure scoring games in the team’s 37 outings. She was 19th in the SEC in scoring at 13.2 points per game and shot 51.0 percent from the field. Her contributions went beyond the scoring column, though, as she was second on the team with 2.5 assists per game and posted 18 games of five or more rebounds and nine games of four or more assists. She was named to the All-Tournament teams in both the NCAA Stockton Regional and the Final Four.
