Diamond DeShields' status clouds view of Lady Vols

Before Tennessee left for Alabama on Wednesday, Lady Vols coach Holly Warlick asked a pertinent question about her team and then tried to answer it.

"Just who are we?" she said, "Trying to make sure we understand who we are."

Thursday's 65-57 loss to the Crimson Tide and the dramatic circumstances surrounding the result offered little clarity. Instead, Warlick's question looms even larger over an SEC women's basketball game against Arkansas (13-13, 2-11 SEC) on  Sunday (TV: SEC Network, 3 p,m, EST) at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Tennessee (16-10, 7-6) has lost two in a row and is tied with LSU for sixth in the conference standings. Furthermore, the status of leading scorer Diamond DeShields is uncertain after she apparently took a blow to her head and neck Thursday and was taken to a Tuscaloosa, Ala., hospital, albeit for precautionary purposes. UT has offered no updates on DeShields since late Thursday night.

Along with being on the lookout for DeShields, here's three other things to watch for on Sunday:

1. If need be, who's going to step up?

If DeShields is out, Tennessee presumably will benefit from being more prepared for her absence. The Lady Vols also won't have to witness their teammate being strapped to a board and taken off on a stretcher, which likely had an effect on their play Thursday.

Still, there's the matter of marshaling their limited roster resources. This work was underway before DeShields' injury.

Under emergency-like circumstances, the best response Thursday came from reserve center Schaquilla Nunn. Her long day began with a 6 a.m. commercial flight from Knoxville to Birmingham, Ala. She had stayed behind to attend an employment law class. The 6-foot-3 graduate transfer from Winthrop had 15 points and 15 rebounds in 30 playing minutes.

"She kept us in the game; she was huge" Warlick said. "I can't ask (Schaquilla) to do too much more."

Conversely, four other Lady Vols (Jordan Reynolds, Jaime Nared, Meme Jackson and Kortney Dunbar) combined for 11 points and six rebounds in 93 playing minutes. Jackson, a 5-11 sophomore guard who's started 18 games this season, hasn't scored more than six points or grabbed more than three rebounds in any of the last 11 games.

2. Zone defenses again becoming a problem

The Lady Vols likely will face some sort of zone defense alignment Sunday. Texas A&M and Alabama both used the strategy to their advantage in the past two games.

Tennessee center Mercedes Russell often drew two or three defenders on Thursday. The 6-6 redshirt junior still managed to score 17 points, reaching double figures for an 18th consecutive game.

Regardless of the opponent's defense, Russell remains UT's best scoring option. The best perimeter threat right now is Alexa Middleton. The junior guard has scored 14 points and shot 6 for 13 from the floor in each of the last two games. She's doing enough to hold some defensive attention.

3. UT's defense can't cover for suspect rebounding

Along with trying to cover the Crimson Tide, the coaching staff plotted its defensive strategy Thursday with rebounding in mind. UT had to cover for that as well.

The Lady Vols are a minus-26 in rebounding the past two games. The deficit is staggering, considering their size and athleticism, not to mention how much they prioritize the task.

Provided she avoids foul trouble, Nared might consider rebounding as a way to recover from 3 for 19 shooting the past two games. The junior forward is second on the team in rebounding, averaging 6.6 per game. She leads the team in offensive rebounds with 63, which factors into her 15.1 points per game scoring average.

Nared had one offensive rebound and three total on Thursday.