Coates leads No. 3 South Carolina to 93-38 rout

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — No. 3 South Carolina finished off three cruise-control wins on its home court. Things won't be so easy next time against No. 4 Louisville.

The Gamecocks (4-0) routed St. Peter's 93-38 on Tuesday night in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Challenge. Alaina Coates has 16 points as all five South Carolina starters finished in double figures and handed the Peacocks (0-4) their 19th straight loss.

Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley believes her program is ready for the step up in competition.

"It's a great way to put our identity on the line," Staley said. "It's a good way to see where we match up with other great teams across the country."

The tests won't stop for the Gamecocks after Louisville. They'll travel to No. 14 Texas on Dec. 1, then close the road stretch at typically dangerous Duke. There's also a home game Dec. 18 against No. 9 UCLA.

Kaela Davis, the Georgia Tech transfer, scored 14 points, going 4-of-4 on three pointers. She said the team's runaway wins over the past three days — the Gamecocks topped Hampton 92-38 on Sunday and Maine 79-42 on Monday night — have helped the team develop flow and revealed deficiencies to work on at practice.

"Obviously, with our three-game stretch we've got coming up, we need to fine tune a lot of things," Davis said.

Davis got the Gamecocks off quickly with a 3-pointer from the right corner. Allisha Gray and Bianca Cuevas-Moore also had early 3s and the Gamecocks led 13-2 four minutes in. Things trended South Carolina's way the rest of the game.

The Gamecocks were up 64-21 at the break, tied for third most points in a half in program history.

A'ja Wilson had 14 points, Gray 13 and Cuevas-Moore 11 as the starter spent most of the final two quarters on the bench cheering their younger teammates.

St. Peter's coach Pat Coyle said the Gamecocks are hard for a team like hers to stop. "We talk about the peaks and the valleys. If you've got good kids, you get out of the valleys quickly, which we do," she said. "After Thanksgiving, we'll regroup."

Talah Hughes led St. Peter's with 11 points, its only double-figure scorer.

THE BIG PICTURE

St. Peter's: The Peacocks had a terrible time in Columbia, losing all three games by awful margins: to Maine, 59-43; to Hampton, 71-42; and to the Gamecocks. St. Peter's was out-rebounded by South Carolina 27-7 in the first two quarters and committed 12 turnovers. They let the Gamecocks shoot better than 68 percent in the first half. It looks like another long season for the Peacocks.

South Carolina: The Gamecocks showed they be dangerous from the outside, too, to go along with their post success. Davis hit all four of her first-half 3-pointers. All seven Gamecocks who took shots in the first two quarters had a shooting percentage over .500. If South Carolina can knock down outside shots, it will add to the effectiveness of 6-5 Wilson and 6-4 Coates down low.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

For South Carolina, it's simple: Beat Louisville and stay No. 3 or higher. Lose to the Cardinals on Sunday and expect to slide down a few notches.

HOT SHOOTING

The Gamecocks finished with season highs in field goal shooting and three-point shooting. South Carolina hit 37 of 66 shots (56.1 percent) from the field while making 10 of 24 shots (41.7 percent) from behind the arc.

SHE SAID IT

"For me, it's about bringing these kids to experience this environment. We're a mid-major and we're not kidding anybody," Coyle said.

UP NEXT

St. Peter's takes on Bowling Green on Sunday in Springfield, Massachusetts.

South Carolina faces No. 4 Louisville on Sunday in Springfield, Massachusetts.

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