Coates leads No. 6 South Carolina women over UCLA 66-57 (Dec 18, 2016)
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Dawn Staley wasn't disappointed or angry that No. 6 South Carolina was tied with ninth-ranked UCLA at half. She believed she had the Bruins right where her team wanted.
The Gamecocks backed her up in a big way Sunday, running past UCLA with a third-quarter surge for a 66-57 victory and their third win over a Top 10 opponent this season.
Alaina Coates had 20 points - 11 in a 17-3 run to start the second half - and 14 rebounds for South Carolina (9-1). Still, things looked dicey at the break with both Coates and 6-foot-5 A'ja Wilson limited by fouls the first two quarters.
Not to Staley.
''I thought we were in a great place,'' Staley said. ''I thought we were picking up steam as the game went on. I was looking at UCLA, I thought they were exhausted playing at that pace. And with our bigs in foul trouble, I thought we'd have a burst in the second half where we needed to have a burst.''
Coates powered the decisive run with 11 points that the Bruins forwards could not match.
But South Carolina used a 17-3 run - fueled by the 6-foot-4 Coates - to start the third period.
Coates scored 11 points in the critical stretch as the Gamecocks built a 43-29 lead that the Bruins (8-2) couldn't overcome.
The closest UCLA came after that was nine points on Jordin Canada's basket with 9:16 to play. But Allisha Gray followed with a three-point play for South Carolina to restore the double-digit margin.
''They imposed their will with their inside game,'' UCLA coach Cori Close said.
Along with Coates, Wilson had 13 points and 13 rebounds - the second straight contest both had double-doubles.
Canada, UCLA's leading scorer who had 30 points in her last game, had 15 points on 6-of-20 shooting before fouling out with 2:15 to go.
Monique Billings had a career-high 22 rebounds to go along with 12 points for the Bruins. She surpassed her high of 16 boards collected in a win over Michigan a week ago.
UCLA's shooting touch was ice cold. The Bruins shot 28.2 percent for the game and made just four of 27 attempts from 3-point range.
THE BIG PICTURE
UCLA: The Bruins showed the speed, size and strength to match up with the best teams in the country. Billings, at 6-4, went toe-to-toe with South Carolina twin post stars in Wilson and Coates.
Canada regularly sped past the Gamecocks' quick guards. The Bruins seemed to wear down before halftime as the Gamecocks wiped out an eight-point lead with an 18-10 run over the final seven minutes of the second quarter.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks need to start faster if they hope to succeed in the rugged Southeastern Conference. South Carolina made only two of 15 field goals in the opening quarter and finished with six points. It's been a recurring problem this season for the Gamecocks, who've scored fewer than 20 points in the first quarter in six of their 10 games this season.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
UCLA could slip out of the Top 10, but should not fall too far after coming cross-country to face the Gamecocks.
South Carolina should hold its spot at No. 6 after winning three games in eight days.
CANADA COLD
South Carolina was wary of Canada's skill and game-planned to make it difficult for her. Canada started 2 of 9 shooting as the Gamecocks forced her to give up the ball, then worked to deny her getting it back. ''She's their engine,'' Gray said. ''The whole thing was to shut down Canada.''
UP NEXT
UCLA: Stays in the South, playing at North Carolina A&T at noon on Tuesday.
South Carolina: Plays its final nonconference game when it travels to Savannah State on Wednesday night.
---
Story has been corrected to show that UCLA plays North Carolina A&T at noon on Tuesday instead of 9 a.m.
