USC’s Alaina Coates out against Georgia; questionable for the weekend

South Carolina senior center Alaina Coates did not play in the Gamecocks’ SEC tournament quarterfinal on Friday and is questionable for the rest of the weekend, the Gamecocks announced before tipoff.

Coates re-injured her right ankle in USC’s regular-season finale and didn’t return to the game. She first hurt the ankle in a loss at Missouri, and hasn’t practiced since the re-injury.

Coach Dawn Staley said the team had options in case Coates couldn’t go. Bianca Cuevas-Moore started in a win at Texas A&M while Coates was out, and the team responded with a quicker, more aggressive offense.

Staley also said that freshman Mikiah Herbert Harrigan has been playing well, and could be rewarded with more playing time.

This story was originally published March 4, 2017 at 11:17 AM with the headline "USC’s Alaina Coates out against Georgia; questionable for the weekend."