SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Dawn Staley knows her South Carolina team plays its best when the offense is balanced.The third-ranked Gamecocks did just that to rout No. 4 Louisville 83-59 on Sunday in the Basketball Hall of Fame womens challenge.Alaina Coates had 17 points and 14 rebounds while Aja Wilson and Allisha Gray also scored 17 points apiece for the Gamecocks (5-0), who turned a tight game into a blowout, using a 17-3 run spanning the half to take control.Were pretty balanced offensively. They did a good job of playing off our point guards, Staley said. Our post players are used to playing with each other.South Carolina led 39-32 when Kaela Davis hit consecutive 3-pointers to expand the advantage to double digits. Fellow transfer Allisha Gray then added a three-point play with 6:42 left in the third quarter that made it 48-32 and capped the burst.Louisville (6-1) could get only within 14 the rest of the way.Getting strong play from Davis and Gray helps the Gamecocks, as teams cant just focus on their talented post players.Its huge for us, Wilson said. Our guards knocking down shots on the outside, it helps open up the high-low. Thats our thing. When the guards are hitting the outside and moving, were looking good.Mariya Moore scored 17 and Asia Durr added 13 for the Cardinals, who had cruised through their first six games. ACC player of the year Myisha Hines-Allen was saddled by foul trouble all game and didnt score until early in the fourth quarter, when the game was already out of reach. She finished with just those two points.Even though we lost I think it was a great game, Moore said. We did a lot of great stuff and learned a lot of stuff for the future.The two teams got off to hot starts on offense and Louisville held a 20-18 lead after the first quarter. Foul trouble started mounting for both squads, slowing down the pace. The Gamecocks led 31-29 with 3:22 left before halftime and then scored the final six points before the break. The last three came when Coates saved a ball going out of bounds near midcourt, crashing into the announcers table. Mikiah Herbert Harrigan finished off the play with a basket and free throw to give the Gamecocks a 37-29 lead at the break.BIG PICTURESouth Carolina: This is the first game of a tough three-contest stretch, with games at Texas and Duke on the horizon. ... The Gamecocks are one of two teams (UConn) to be in the top five of every poll since the start of the 2014-15 season.Its a great start to a tough week for us, Staley said. I think our players really enjoy and focus in a little more when the competitions a little stiffer. We see them come up and play this way and rise to the level of a competitive basketball team.Louisville: The Cardinals won their first six games by an average of 28 points. The schedule gets a lot tougher now with Maryland, Kentucky, Western Kentucky and South Dakota State coming up.DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINECoates has reached double figures in scoring and rebounding in four of the five games this season. Shes averaging a double-double while playing just 24 minutes.USA EXPERIENCELouisville coach Jeff Walz and South Carolina coach Dawn Staley worked together on the Under-18 and Under-19 USA Basketball teams that won gold medals at the FIBA Americas and FIBA World Championship in 2014-15. Wilson was MVP of both tournaments.UP NEXTSouth Carolina: Plays at Texas on Thursday for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.Louisville: Hosts Maryland on Thursday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Evan Longoria Jersey Large . 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Duchene scored two goals and had an assist, helping the Colorado Avalanche beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday night to match the best 10-game start in team history. RIO DE JANEIRO -- While Andriy Hovorov hasnt been home for almost three years, he is representing his native region of Crimea quite well in Rio.Hovorov raced for Ukraine on Thursday and posted the fastest time of the mens 50-meter freestyle heats, making the furious dash to the wall in 21.49 seconds, better than U.S. medal contenders Nathan Adrian and Anthony Ervin.We were planning for this, we had expectations, but its just the start, Hovorov said.Hovorovs life took an unexpected turn when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. The swimmer, who is from Sevastopol, ruled out changing his nationality, leading to his extended absence from his home territory.Ukraines economy is in crisis, but sports officials have focused much of their meager funding on him, allowing him to train abroad with coach Arilson Silva, the former mentor of Brazilian world-record holder Cesar Cielo.This result comes from him, Hovorov said of Silva. We know what were doing, we know the plan, and this is just the first step to have better results.Hovorov arrived in Rio in good form, having won silver in the 50 free at the European Championships in May, plus a gold medal in the 50 butterfly, a non-Olympic event. The Olympic 50 free semifinals were scheduled for Thhursday night, with the final taking place on Friday.ddddddddddddSpeaking with The Associated Press in June, Hovorov said he was proud to stay with Ukraine but understood how other Crimean athletes could have been tempted to switch to Russia if they were struggling to fund their careers in the Ukrainian system.After the 50 heats, Hovorov said he doesnt want to talk politics in Rio, but plans to speak with relatives in Crimea later in the day. He said the situation there is stable, even with tensions high this week following what Russia claims was a military incursion by Ukrainian forces.Ukraine has another Crimean medal contender in rhythmic gymnastics, where Anna Rizatdinova must face the Russian gold medal favorites.Crimeans who switched allegiance to Russia have struggled to reach Rio because of International Olympic Committee rules mandating athletes observe a period of ineligibility after changing their registered nationality. One Crimean, javelin thrower Vera Rebrik, has been approved to compete for Russia, but is not in Rio because of a doping-related ban on the Russian track and field team. ' ' '
