S. Carolina rolls after a sluggish start

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Tiffany Mitchell scored 22 points, Alaina Coates had her 13th double-double this season with 14 points and 11 rebounds and No. 2 South Carolina bounced back from its loss to top-ranked UConn with an 86-71 victory over No. 16 Florida on Thursday night.

The Gamecocks (23-1, 11-0 SEC) overcame a sluggish start — likely a hangover from its 66-54 showdown loss to the Huskies on Monday night. They went on a 16-0 run in the second quarter to take control, up 35-16.

The Gators (19-5, 7-4) closed to 65-57 with seven minutes left when Coates had two inside baskets to restore South Carolina’s double-digit lead.

A’ja Wilson added to South Carolina’s dominance underneath with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks.

Carla Batchelor had a career-high 19 points to lead the Gators, who have lost seven consecutive to South Carolina.

South Carolina won its 24th consecutive SEC game at home, a streak that dates to February 2013.

It was certainly not the atmosphere surrounding Monday’s loss this time at Colonial Life Arena and it seemed to spread to the Gamecocks slow first quarter when they had trouble managing Florida’s full-court pressure and swarming defense.

South Carolina finally got going in the second quarter and turned a tight game into a blowout.

Wilson had four points and three blocks in the stretch, while Bianca Cuevas and Tina Roy hit three-pointers to extend the lead. When Jatarie White scored on an inside bucket, the Gamecocks were ahead 35-16.

Florida missed its first nine shots of the period to fall behind. The Gators rallied to close the quarter on a 15-8 run and trailed 43-31 at the half.

Wilson and Coates again did their damage inside against the Gators, combining for 11 points and 12 rebounds in the first two quarters.

South Carolina showed off its defense, as well, holding Florida’s two leading scorers in Ronni Williams and Eleanna Christinaki to 11 points combined on 4 of 18 shooting. Williams and Christinaki came in averaging nearly 22 points a game between them.

In other Top 25 women’s games Thursday, Courtney Williams had 22 points and Courtney Walker had 21 and No. 15 Texas A&M defeated No. 11 Mississippi State 64-58. … Teniya Page scored 20 points, including a tiebreaking basket with a minute remaining, and Penn State upset No. 17 Michigan State. Page gave the Lady Lions (9-15, 4-9 Big Ten) a 62-61 lead and added another bucket with 20 seconds left. A free throw by Lindsey Spann closed out the scoring. … Shatori Walker-Kimbrough scored 23, Brionna Jones had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 5 Maryland beat Purdue 73-59 for a season sweep. Coming off a 94-86 loss at Ohio State, the Terrapins (22-3, 11-2 Big Ten) never trailed in defeating the Boilermakers for the second time in nine days. … Shakayla Thomas scored 14 points and No. 10 Florida State beat Duke 69-53 for its 10th consecutive victory. Kai James added 11 points for the Seminoles (20-4, 10-1 ACC). They never trailed, shot 46 percent and overcame 19 turnovers by forcing 22 of them in their first victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 2001. … Myisha Hines-Allen had a career-high 29 points, Cortnee Walton had a double-double and No. 12 Louisville rolled to an 84-61 victory over Pittsburgh. Walton hit 8 of 9 shots for a career-high 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, seven on the offensive end, for the Cardinals (19-6, 11-1 ACC. Mariya Moore had 21 points and six assists. … Keyona Hayes led a balanced attack with 16 points and No. 19 Miami held off Georgia Tech 58-55 despite missing three free throws in the closing seconds. Adrienne Motley finished with 13 points for the Hurricanes (21-4, 9-3 ACC), who finished 9 of 16 from the foul line.