WOMENS BASKETBALL

Questions arise regarding Lady Vols' Diamond DeShields, Jaime Nared

Dan Fleser
USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Rather than inspire more exclamation points, Tennessee’s Diamond DeShields and Jaime Nared suddenly are dogged by question marks.

For most of the women’s basketball season, they and teammate Mercedes Russell have comprised a Lady Vols power trio that’s accounted for nearly 65 percent of the team’s scoring. DeShields has reached 20 or more points in a game nine times. Nared was a scoring hero in upsets of Notre Dame and South Carolina.

But DeShields suffered an apparent blow to her head and neck early Thursday night against Alabama. The redshirt junior guard was strapped to a board, carried off on a stretcher and taken to a local hospital, a scene that played out in scary fashion. She played four minutes and didn’t score.

Diamond DeShields injured in Lady Vols' loss to Alabama

Nared, meanwhile, was limited by early foul trouble and never got any scoring traction. The junior forward had four points and shot 1 for 12 from the floor, missing all nine of her field goal attempts after returning in the second half.

The circumstances played a major part in a 65-57 SEC loss to the Crimson Tide at Coleman Coliseum. The Lady Vols fell into a tie for sixth with LSU in the conference standings. Their NCAA tournament resume also took a hit.

At least DeShields’ prognosis sounded encouraging. The Lady Vols Twitter account reported that she was cleared to return home with the team Thursday night on its charter flight.

“I don’t know what they found when they took her (to the hospital),” UT coach Holly Warlick said, “but she had all the feelings in her legs and hands.”

DeShields was to undergo further examination in Knoxville on Friday. Her status is uncertain for Sunday’s home game against Arkansas.

Nared, meanwhile, has shot 3 for 19 from the floor during the past two games. Tennessee’s third-leading scorer, who scored in double figures in 19 consecutive games earlier this season, has reached double figures just once in the last four, averaging nine points for that span.

It's not a reach to say Tennessee's Jaime Nared (31) and the Lady Vols will travel a hard road during SEC women's basketball play this season.

“Jaime has carried us through a lot of basketball games so I’m not going to put this on her,” Warlick said.

Instead Warlick put the loss squarely on herself.

“I’ll take responsibility,” she said. “I thought we had them ready. I guess we didn’t.”

After being outrebounded 45-34 and outscored 14-8 in second-chance points by Texas A&M last Sunday, the Lady Vols concentrated on rebounding in preparation for Alabama. Yet the Crimson Tide, who were outrebounded by 20 against Florida on Sunday, outrebounded Tennessee 53-38. Included were 22 offensive rebounds.

Alabama’s 14-10 edge in second-chance points wasn’t as crucial as the prolonged possessions they amassed at UT’s expense. The rebounding also reflected a disparity in effort.

“I think at times on defense, we’d see the shot go up and so we think the play’s done and it’s not,” Warlick said. “... It wears on your mind.”

Russell, who grabbed nine rebounds and surpassed the 1,000-point career milestone, spoke of rebounding as a physical battle in which the Lady Vols were outnumbered and overwhelmed.

“We weren’t having all five players being aggressive and hitting their opponent and pushing them back,” she said. “That’s how they got so many offensive rebounds. Their guards were crashing from outside the three-point line. They were going in there and going over us.

“On the defensive end, we just have to push back and be strong.”

Tennessee’s top rebounder was reserve post Schaquilla Nunn, who grabbed 15 to go with her 15 points. The graduate transfer stayed in Knoxville on Wednesday to attend an employment law class. She rejoined the team via a 6 a.m. commercial flight Thursday to Birmingham, Ala.

It’s worth noting that in her brief stint, DeShields grabbed three rebounds.

Russell thought the rebounding deficiencies amplified Tennessee’s sketchy 36.7 percent shooting from the floor, which was better than Alabama’s 35.2 percent accuracy.

“I think on the offensive end, a lot of our decisions and a lot of our shots just weren’t good,” Russell said. “And then, unlike Alabama, we weren’t crashing the (offensive) boards. So it was a lot of one and dones.”

More Lady Vols Headlines: