After a scare, USC’s Gray is full-go as Gamecocks head to Stockton

Out on the court at the Carolina Coliseum, No. 10 was moving fine.

The scare South Carolina women’s basketball player Allisha Gray put into Gamecocks fans appears to have been premature. The junior guard went down Sunday against Arizona State, grabbing at her leg and had to be carried off, but it turned out, nothing to be too worried about.

“Just a little bad Charley horse, hamstring,” Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said.

It means USC won’t be badly undermanned when it takes on upstart Quinnipiac in a Sweet 16 game Saturday in Stockton, Calif.

The Gamecocks (29-4) already were down a player against the Sun Devils with the injury to top center Alaina Coates. Gray ranks third on USC in points (12.8 per game) and second in minutes (28.3).

During Wednesday’s practice, she appeared to be moving well and going hard in team work.

“You saw her practicing, she’s going to go,” Staley said. “She’s not going to let this opportunity pass her by. It wasn’t her knee, so that’s great news about it.”

Even with Gray, the Gamecocks don’t have much room for error with a short rotation. The 12-player roster could play only 10 in the tournament, with the Coates injury and Alexis Jennings sitting out as a transfer.

The trio of Tiffany Davis, Araion Bradshaw and Victoria Patrick play sparingly, especially in tight moments against good teams. So USC is rolling with its starters and a pair of reserves.

But that’s probably still enough to make a postseason run.

“You’ve got to go with what you have,” Staley said. “If it’s seven, if it’s eight, if it’s nine, if it’s, we don’t have 10, I don’t think. We’ve just got to go with what feels good and what’s working.

“It’s enough. UConn only plays six or seven.”

This story was originally published March 23, 2017 at 7:07 AM with the headline "After a scare, USC’s Gray is full-go as Gamecocks head to Stockton."