The Daily Gamecock

Women rout Rebels, welcome Missouri

	<p>Coach Dawn Staley has led South Carolina to an <span class="caps">NCAA</span> Tournament appearance the past two years.</p>
Coach Dawn Staley has led South Carolina to an NCAA Tournament appearance the past two years.

Gamecocks match season-high with 99 points

Wherever she goes, success seems to follow South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley closely.

As the head coach at Temple from 2000 to 2008, Staley brought the program to prominence, building it from the bottom. During her eight-year tenure with the Owls, she led them to 172 overall wins. Temple had 62 total wins over 220 games in the eight years before Staley’s takeover.

In the middle of her sixth year with the Gamecocks, Staley is making history again.

The former WNBA All-Star has No. 7 South Carolina out to a 19-2 overall record — the best start in school history. The Gamecocks are 7-1 in the Southeastern Conference and have seen the Colonial Life Arena transform into the women’s basketball equivalent of Williams-Brice Stadium.

So far this season, South Carolina is undefeated at home, and it boasts a 14-game winning streak that dates back to last season.

The latest home victory came in a 99-70 thrashing of Ole Miss, who currently sits in the cellar of the SEC standings.

Six different Gamecocks finished Thursday’s victory with double-digit points, including freshman Alaina Coates, who matched her career high of 24 points. Coates also registered her seventh double-double of the season, as she also recorded 12 rebounds.

South Carolina fell just short of scoring triple-digit points, which would have been the first time since South Carolina beat North Carolina A&T in 2008, 102-74.

“I mean, we had a couple of cracks at it,” Staley said of the possibility of scoring 100 points. “If we didn’t get it then, no need to do that to an opponent that’s down by 20 or 30 points. For us, it was the unpopular, right thing to do.”

After successfully defending their home against the Rebels, South Carolina looks to continue its home dominance against Missouri (14-7, 3-5 SEC) on Sunday at 3 p.m.

“Our focus is Missouri,” Staley said. “Obviously Missouri poses another challenge in their style of play. You know, they beat us last year — they beat us pretty bad. It’ll be a good game to have at home to avenge that loss.”

Just like Ole Miss, Missouri is struggling to find success in the heat of its conference schedule. The Tigers, however, won their most recent contest, bringing their four-game skid to a screeching halt against No. 16 Vanderbilt. South Carolina capped off their sweep of Vanderbilt this season last weekend with a 61-57 win.

Missouri features only two starters from its 65-58 win over South Carolina last year in Columbia, Mo., and it has since beefed up its roster, including transfers from Kansas and Louisville.

Senior forward Bri Kulas leads the Tigers in points, with 376, and is second on the team in total rebounds, with 137. Kulas dropped 26 points on the Gamecocks last year at Missouri on her way to a double-double.

The Tigers’ proficiency from beyond the arc gives them a valuable weapon in their offensive arsenal. They rank second in the nation in three-point field goals per game with an average of 9.8, or 195 total this season.

Something will have to give Sunday night, as the Gamecocks have only allowed opponents to shoot 25.5 percent (60-235) from three-point range this season. Missouri only knocked down three of seven three-pointers in last season’s contest.

This season, much of South Carolina’s offensive success has come from the inside, which is no secret to Coates. She called Ibiam her “twin tower.”

“I don’t want to say we’re unstoppable,” Coates said, “but having us two (Coates and Ibiam) in the paint at the same time — it’s hard to stop us. We’re just going to keep doing what we do.”


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