COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Whenever things are a struggle on the court for Alaina Coates, she remembers what drives her to succeed.
Coates had her 50th career double-double - 19 points and 11 rebounds - to help No. 6 South Carolina power past Alabama 93-45 on Sunday. A’ja Wilson added 23 points and nine boards as the Gamecocks (11-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) opened league play.
“Regardless if I’m having a bad shooting day or a bad day at all, rebounding is the one thing that I know that I can do,” Coates said. “It’s something that I’m proud of and something I’m going to continue to attack.”
Few teams have been able to slow down the 6-foot-4 senior, third in the SEC in rebounding, this season. Coates was at it once more against the Crimson Tide (12-2, 0-1) with nine points and five boards in the first quarter as the Gamecocks powered to a 27-9 lead and cruised to their 13th straight win over the Crimson Tide (12-2, 0-1) and sixth consecutive series victory by 20 or more points.
“I thought we took advantage of our strength,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said of the 6-foot-4 Coates and the 6-5 Wilson, who closed out the opening quarter with a 3-point play. Coates and Wilson each had two of South Carolina’s 10 blocked shots.
It was the fourth straight season that South Carolina, seeking its fourth straight league championship, started SEC play with a win.
For Coates, it was her eighth game this season with double figures in points and rebounds. The senior is second all-time at South Carolina, behind Sheila Foster’s 72 from 1979-82.
Alabama entered the game with four players averaging double figures. But Meoshonti Knight, Hannah Cook, Shaquera Wade and Jordan Lewis shot a combined 9-of-37 for 28 total points. Lewis’ 10 topped the Crimson Tide, who were held to their smallest point total of the season.
Alabama coach Kristy Curry said her team will learn from this during the long SEC season. She said South Carolina “would’ve done this to a lot of teams today.”
THE BIG PICTURE
Alabama: The Crimson Tide built a gaudy pre-SEC mark by beating up on mostly mid-major opponents. Their only two Power Five teams so far were wins over Kansas (71-65 in overtime) and Georgia Tech (67-65). And Alabama sure didn’t look ready for what South Carolina had coming. The Crimson Tide couldn’t slow the Gamecocks’ front line or penetrate their defense - Alabama made only two field goals the first nine minutes of the second quarter.
South Carolina: An 11-day break didn’t bother the Gamecocks too much. South Carolina grabbed a 27-9 lead in the opening quarter and never looked back. It’s a formula the Gamecocks have used to go 46-3 in SEC regular-season play the past four years.
EXPERIENCED DUO
Coates said she and Wilson developed their chemistry growing up in the Columbia area on youth basketball teams. That’s why it can so look so seemless when the two are on the court together, she said. “We’ve worked on this a long time,” Coates said. “It just didn’t happen.”
It’s the eighth time in 12 games that both players reached double-figure points.
LINEUP CHANGE
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said she’s trying Bianca Cuevas-Moore off the bench to give the Gamecocks a second-unit lift. Cuevas-Moore has started 10 of 12 games, but sat behind freshman Tyasha Harris in the win over Alabama. Staley said Cuevas-Moore, a junior, likes to score, while Harris has a more pass-first mentality that could mesh well with the Gamecocks’ other starters, all of whom average 13 points or better this season.
UP NEXT
Alabama opens its league home season against Mississippi on Thursday night.
South Carolina plays its first SEC road game of the season when it travels to Auburn on Thursday night.
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