The Daily Gamecock

Dominance down low leads No. 6 Gamecocks over Clemson

It wasn't the dominant victory fans saw the last time Clemson visited Colonial Life Arena, but Dawn Staley's No. 6 Gamecocks got the the job done Thursday night against their in-state rivals, coming away with a 83-61 win.

It was South Carolina's top scorers who led the way against the Tigers, as A'ja Wilson, Alaina Coates and Kaela Davis combined for 56 points, 23 rebounds and 11 assists. Coates and Wilson showed off their dominant high-low game in the post, and Clemson, who has no players over 6-foot-2, struggled to find answers. 

"Our post players do a great job of looking at their partner down there... to capitalize on our size in there," head coach Dawn Staley said. "That's what we'll continue to do. They shoot it at a really high percentage."

The duo of All-SEC bigs combined for 17-27 shooting on the night, and they were getting each other involved, as Wilson finished with four assists, and Coates had three. 

"The inside game is impossible [to stop]," Clemson coach Audra Smith said. "You have six-four, six-five in there, and we're boxing out, we're trying to push back, and it's tough."

Allisha Gray chipped in with eight points, while Doniyah Cliney added seven points and nine rebounds, setting a career-high. Cliney tied her career-high just four days before in South Carolina's last game against Minnesota with eight rebounds, before topping herself Thursday.

"She works, and she gives us a totally different dimension," Staley said of the 6-foot redshirt sophomore guard. "She's athletic, she's quick. She doesn't mind doing the little things. She defends, she rebounds."

Though the Gamecocks finished with a plus-19 margin on the glass, Clemson outrebounded the home team 8-5 in the first quarter. South Carolina bounced back quickly though, pulling down nine of its 19 offensive rebounds in the second quarter alone. The Gamecocks would put up 21 second-chance points, and dominate the paint with a 50-26 scoring advantage.

Palmetto Series all square

With South Carolina's win, the Palmetto Series is now tied at 5-5 for the 2016-17 school year. The next matchup between the two in-state rivals comes in men's basketball, when Frank Martin and the Gamecocks host Clemson on Dec. 21. 

Staley has now led South Carolina to seven straight wins over the Tigers, matching the longest streak in the series' history, held by Clemson from 1996-2001. The Gamecocks last fell to Clemson on the road in 2009, when the game went to double overtime. 

Record update

Early in the fourth quarter, Coates grabbed her 10th rebound of the night, securing her sixth double-double of the season. The rebound had even more significance though, as it pushed Coates into second in the South Carolina record books in career rebounds, passing Marsha Williams. Coates finished the game with 1,027 career boards, 400 behind record-holder Sheila Foster. 

Next up

The Gamecocks take on their fourth ranked opponent of the season Sunday, when the No. 9 UCLA Bruins travel to Colonial Life Arena. Tipoff is at 2 p.m.


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