Coates Tabbed SEC Player of the Week For Third Time This Season
COLUMBIA, S.C. (USC SID)– South Carolina senior center Alaina Coates has been tabbed the SEC Player of the Week for the third time this season, the league announced Tuesday. The Irmo, S.C., native posted back-to-back double-doubles last week to lead the No. 6/6 Gamecocks (9-1) to home wins over Clemson and No. 9/9 UCLA.
Coates was instrumental in Carolina’s 66-57 victory over the Bruins this past Sunday, scoring 11 of her game-high 20 points in the third quarter to help the Gamecocks establish a double-digit advantage through three periods. The performance marked her second 20-point performance this season and gave her an SEC-leading seventh double-double. Coates imposed her will down low against the Tigers on Dec. 15 with 19 points and 10 boards, the 10th of which moved her into second on Carolina’s all-time rebounding list.
The senior leads the league and ranks fifth in Division I in field goal percentage (.682) this year, and her 11.1 rebounds per game stand as the 10th-best mark among DI players. Coates has led the team in rebounding seven times, and she has recorded a double-double in each of Carolina’s three contests against top-10 foes.
The Gamecocks close out their pre-holiday slate with a road contest against Savannah State on Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game can be seen through an online stream with a paid subscription.
