John Adams: DeShields goes from foul trouble to big trouble for Tigers

Missouri had Tennessee’s Diamond DeShields right where it wanted her early in the second quarter Thursday night at Thompson-Boling Arena. She was on the bench.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, she didn’t stay there nearly long enough.

DeShields overcame early foul trouble to score a game-high 22 points as the Lady Vols finished strong in a 77-66 women’s basketball victory over Missouri. The victory lifted UT (16-8, 7-4) ahead of Missouri into fifth place in the SEC.

And DeShields did most of the lifting as the Lady Vols pulled away in the second half.

Tennessee coach Holly Warlick usually doesn’t keep a player on the floor after a second first-half foul. However, she made an exception for DeShields after Missouri seized the momentum and took a four-point lead in the first two minutes of the quarter.

“I thought her presence on the floor we needed to have – her ability to rebound and make people shoot over her,” Warlick said. “She’s got to be disciplined enough not to foul.”

DeShields responded with a baseline jumper after the Missouri lead had grown to eight. UT’s leading scorer was just warming up.

She scored 18 points in the second half and made eight of 12 field-goal attempts for the game, including four of six from 3-point range. She also added six rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

She was encouraged most by her 3-point shooting.

“From a mechanic’s standpoint, I know I’m not a bad 3-point shooter,” said DeShields, who entered the game shooting .323 from behind the arc. “I have a hard time understanding why my percentage is so low. I keep working on it. I feel like I’m getting my rhythm.”

Her highlight play didn’t come from a shot, though. It came from setting up a shot.

With Tennessee leading 47-46 early in the third quarter, Mercedes Russell’s second free-throw attempt bounced off the rim. DeShields went high above a Missouri defender, snared the rebound and hit teammate Meme Jackson in stride with a perfect pass as she broke to the basket for a layup.

“I saw her through a small space,” DeShields said. “I want to say we made eye contact. The credit is to Meme for being aggressive in that moment.”

While that gave the Lady Vols a three-point lead, DeShields’ shooting further distanced them from Missouri. She hit back-to-back 3s to give Tennessee a 13-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.

“Diamond’s 3s were very timely,” Warlick said. “That separated us a lot. I thought Diamond got open shots. I didn’t think we forced a lot of 3s.”

As appreciative as Warlick was of DeShields’ long-range shooting, she stressed that she didn’t want her settling for outside shots.

“She’s an outstanding 3-point shooter, but sometimes in the past she settled for 3s,” Warlick said. “She’s so good at attacking the basket and drawing fouls.”

And she proved against Missouri she can avoid committing fouls, too.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him on Twitter: @JohnAdamsKNS