Gopher Women Fall To No. 6 South Carolina, 98-58
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Kaela Davis had 20 points off six 3-pointers and Allisha Gray 18 points as No. 6 South Carolina bounced back from its only loss with a 98-58 blowout of Minnesota on Sunday.
The Gamecocks (7-1) finished with 16 3-pointers, the most in coach Dawn Staley's nine seasons and second most in program history behind the 17 against Western Carolina in 1994.
Davis, a Georgia Tech transfer who came off the bench for the first time this season, was a big reason for South Carolina's outside success. She hit five of her first six shots from behind the arc as the Gamecocks built a 57-27 halftime lead.
Kenisha Bell led Minnesota (7-4) with 16 points. Carlie Wagner, the Gophers' leading scorer at 20.7 points a game, missed her first nine shots and finished with six points.
Alaina Coates had 16 points and 11 rebounds, her fifth double-double of the season and 47th of her career. She also had four of South Carolina's nine blocks.
Gray made four 3s and added a team-high seven assists.
Staley stressed defensive improvement after the Duke defeat — a 74-63 loss last Sunday — and the Gamecocks shut down Minnesota.
The Gamecocks used a 15-0 start and an 18-0 run in the second quarter to put it away.
BIG PICTURE
Minnesota: The Golden Gophers won 20 or more games the past three seasons and won 11 Big Ten Conference games the last two years under coach Marlene Stollings. But those teams featured conference players of the year in Amanda Zahui B. (2015) and Rachel Banham. Minnesota hasn't yet developed the inside game to go along with Wagner's scoring and will have to do it with quick — it starts league play at Ohio State on Dec. 28.
South Carolina: Staley delivered a strong message about defense — or lack of it — in the loss to Duke last week, starting Doniyah Cliney and Tyasha Harris over Kaela Davis and Bianca Cuevas-Moore. Davis responded with a 6-of-9 first half, including five 3-pointers. Cuevas-Moore played turnover-free as the Gamecocks built a big lead while holding Minnesota to 25 percent (7 of 28) shooting the first two quarters.
UP NEXT
Minnesota: Home for two games and plays Belmont on Wednesday night.
South Carolina: Faces rival Clemson, a surprise undefeated team, on Thursday night.
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