Alaina Coates and A’ja Wilson are working on their basketball fundamentals as they compete in The Pan American games in Toronto and the FIBA U19 tournament in Russia, respectively.
Coates, a University of South Carolina junior, shined in the semi-final game against Cuba where she grabbed 15 rebounds, eight of which came in the fourth quarter, helping the Americans edge the Cubans out 66-65.
Coates recorded her second double-double of the tournament with 10 points and 15 rebounds. USA turned the ball over just four times in the first half and finished on an 8-2 run to end the first quarter.
The Cubans hit the locker room at halftime with a 37-26 advantage, but the U.S. cut the lead to single digits by the end of the third quarter, with the score 46-39.
Coates showed up for USA late in the game. With 46 seconds left in the game, the 20-year-old made a put-back layup to give the U.S. a 63-62 lead. Seconds later, Coates recorded her second block of the tournament.
The last minute of the game saw four lead changes. Coates, who has averaged 10.3 points per game in the tournament, added six points in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
USA advanced to the final game last night where they fell to Canada 81-73 and would settle for a silver medal in the Games.
Foul trouble plagued the Americans as Coates sat for the majority of the first half. She finished the game with only six points and a team-high nine rebounds. She concluded the tournament with an average of 11 points per game and 10 rebounds.
Across the pond, South Carolina freshman A’ja Wilson continued her strong play at the FIBA U19 tournament, as USA overwhelmed Egypt 104-41 in Chekhov, Russia. With the victory, head coach Dawn Staley and her squad remain perfect in Group B play and will advance out of group play and into the Round of 16.
Against China, Wilson, who tallied her first double-double of the tournament, paced the Americans early in the game, finishing the first half with 17 points and eight rebounds. The U.S. ended the first half on an 18-3 run and went into the locker rooms with a 55-29 lead.
The lead dropped to 15 points after China opened up the third quarter with a 13-4 run. Wilson and the Americans responded late in the third with 11 unanswered points to end the quarter.
A defensive rebound by Wilson early in the third quarter secured the double-double for the Gamecock rising sophomore. Wilson has averaged a team-best 10 rebounds per game during the tournament, and her 17.5 points per contest also rank first on the team.
Staley was pleased with the victory, praising Wilson for her will power.
“One of the biggest strengths of our team is our length,” Staley said. “A’ja is able to score down there in the paint at will. We have six post players on this team, and they’re all different.”
Both Coates and Wilson are shining in the summer sun as they prepare for next season at USC.