A'ja Wilson's Las Vegas Aces teammates, including Iowa alumni, wear South Carolina gear ahead of exhibition in Columbia

With her team playing an exhibition Saturday in Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday, A’ja Wilson did what felt right and made sure her Las Vegas Aces teammates dressed like locals.

In the hours before their preseason matchup against the Puerto Rico national team, several Aces players were pictured walking into Colonial Life Arena wearing various pieces of South Carolina apparel — t-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, sweatpants and even a robe.

For some of those players, it was a bit of an awkward arrangement. While Wilson is a South Carolina native who starred for the Gamecocks and led them to a national championship, all of her teammates went elsewhere for college.

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Among those wearing South Carolina gear were Kate Martin (who played at Iowa), Kiah Stokes (UConn), Jackie Young (Notre Dame), Megan Gustafson (Iowa) and Chelsea Gray (Duke).

For Martin, donning a Gamecocks hoodie with a matching pair of sweatpants came at a particularly interesting time. Just one month earlier, her college career ended with an 87-75 loss to South Carolina in the championship game of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

The Aces, the reigning two-time WNBA champions, defeated Puerto Rico 102-50 in their final tune-up before Tuesday’s regular-season opener against the Phoenix Mercury. Wilson (27 points), Kelsey Plum (21) and Gustafson (17) all finished in double figures, with Wilson making 10 of her 15 shots – including her lone 3-point attempt – and pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds.

Having to wear the gear of the team that ended her Iowa career didn’t affect Martin’s play. The Las Vegas rookie scored five points and had two assists in 10 minutes. She made her lone attempt from 3 of the day.

If there were a day for Wilson to exert her influence and have her teammates unwillingly represent her alma mater, it was Saturday.

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Ahead of the exhibition game in Columbia, it was announced that Wilson, a two-time WNBA MVP, was receiving her own signature shoe, the “A’One,” from Nike. She becomes the fifth active WNBA player to have a signature shoe, joining Sabrina Ionescu, Elena Delle Donne, Breanna Stewart and Caitlin Clark.

"It's been incredible working with Nike toward a dream of having my collection, and it really is an honor to take this next step and become a Nike signature athlete," Wilson said in a statement. "From my logo to the look of the shoe and the pieces throughout the collection, we've worked to make sure every detail is perfectly tuned to my game and style."

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: A'ja Wilson has Las Vegas Aces wear South Carolina gear ahead of exhibition