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The #5 South Carolina Gamecocks may have gotten an 81-62 win over the Florida Gators to improve to 13-1 (3-0 SEC), but they suffered a big loss to their lineup.
With 4:19 left in the fourth quarter and the Gamecocks holding a 76-58 lead, A’ja Wilson landed awkwardly on the foot of Florida’s Haley Lorenzen. She ended up on the ground in pain after rolling her ankle and had to exit the game.
#Gamecocks star A'ja Wilson goes down in 4th qtr at Florida. Looks like right ankle. Landed on another player's foot. Helped to locker room.
— David Caraviello (@dcaraviello) January 8, 2017
❤️ all your thoughts coming in for @_ajawilson22. Nothing to report. Will have full evaluation back in Columbia. #Gamecocks
— GamecockWBB (@GamecockWBB) January 8, 2017
The injury overshadowed a fine double-double performance by the junior in which she recorded 23 points and 13 rebounds. Allisha Gray added 18 points and six rebounds before fouling out, while Alaina Coates tacked on 14 and 13 in the winning effort. The Gamecocks forced 22 Gator turnovers in this one.
Despite an even first quarter in which the Gamecocks couldn’t shake off a pesky Florida team, they turned it on in the second frame by outscoring the hosts by a 26-5 margin - helped by a pair of threes by Gray and 10 points by Wilson. Carolina took their foot off the pedal a bit the rest of the way thanks to a comfortable lead that never got below 14 in the second half.
South Carolina puts its seven-game winning streak on the line when Georgia comes to town on Thursday. Tip off time for that one is set for 7pm on the SEC Network.