0 Shares print COLUMBIA, S.C. — It was a night that started off with a salute to South Carolina’s trip to the 2015 Women’s Final Four and ended with speculation that maybe we’d just watched two of the participants who’ll gather on the season’s last weekend in Indianapolis next April. Second-ranked South Carolina beat No. 6 Ohio State 88-80 before 16,815 fans at Colonial Life Arena on Friday. If you wanted a game to get your blood racing to tip off this season, this was a great one to see. “I like it. I like the razor-sharp focus that you need,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said of opening with a top-10 matchup. “We may not have executed the way we would have liked, but we had the effort.” From homegrown talent leading the way for both teams to a pair of coaches making their mark on women’s basketball at a national level, there was plenty to appreciate. South Carolina big women A’ja Wilson (20 points, 14 rebounds) and Alaina Coates (17 and 13) each had double-doubles. And the backcourt blast furnace of Ohio State guards Kelsey Mitchell (36 points) and Ameryst Alston (23) will presumably be torching defenses all season. Alaina Coates, one of six Gamecocks who hail from the state of South Carolina, tallied 17 points and 13 rebounds. Stephen B…
Continue Reading: No. 2 Gamecocks start with win, put on show with No. 6 Buckeyes in opener
