South Carolina women's basketball will be without one of its twin towers for its NCAA Tournament run.
An ankle injury will sideline All-SEC center Alaina Coates and close the books on her decorated collegiate career. Coates will finish as the No. 2 career rebounder in program history. Paired with two-time SEC Player of the Year A'ja Wilson, Coates' presence at the low post has given the Gamecocks one of the most dominant frontcourts in the nation for the last three seasons.
Coates played a total of four minutes during the SEC Tournament for South Carolina, with the Gamecocks frequently relying on a four-guard rotation in her absence.
The senior first sustained her injury against Missouri on Feb. 19.
The Gamecocks will host their round-of-64 matchup against UNC Asheville on Friday at 5 p.m. in Colonial Life Arena. South Carolina earned a No. 1 seed in its region for the fourth consecutive season.
UNC Asheville enters tournament play having won its last six games and recently earned an automatic bid after winning the Big South Tournament.
No. 8 seed Arizona State and No. 9 seed Michigan State will also play their opening weekend games in Columbia. Should it advance, South Carolina will play the winner of that matchup.
The Gamecocks are slotted as the top seed in the Stockton regional. Last season they were assigned to Sioux Falls Regional and were upset by Syracuse in the Sweet 16.
"I'm very disappointed," said South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley. "We're always the team — three out of the last four years that we've been No. 1 seeds having to fly across two and three times zones."
The Gamecocks advanced out of their region to make the Final Four as recently as 2015 when they fell 66-65 to Notre Dame. The Stockton portion of the bracket includes Oregon State, Miami, Florida State and Missouri, all teams that finished ranked in the AP poll.