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

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

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:13 a.m. ET

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Alaina Coates scored 16 points while A'ja Wilson and Kaela Davis added 14 each as No. 3 South Carolina handed St. Peter's its 19th straight loss, 93-38, on Tuesday night in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women's Challenge.

It was the Gamecocks third blowout tournament win the past three days. Things will get significantly harder for South Carolina (4-0), starting Sunday against No. 4 Louisville. After that are road games at Texas and Duke and home contests with Minnesota and UCLA.

Right now, the Gamecocks appear ready for any challenge. All five of their starters went for double figures. Allisha Gray scored 13 points and Bianca Cuevas-Moore finished with 11. All were on the bench most of the final two quarters against the undersized and overmatched Peacocks (0-4).

South Carolina was effective both inside and outside in this one. Davis, the Georgia Tech transfer, was 4-of-4 from three-point range while Wilson and Coates combined to go 13-of-18 from the field with 12 rebounds. The Gamecocks led 64-21 at the break, tied for third most points in a half in program history.

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

This was the last of three tune ups for the Gamecocks, all which predictably ended in routs: they beat Hampton 92-38 on Sunday and Maine 79-42 on Monday night before running past St. Peter's.

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.

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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More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org

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