DeShields benched for start of matchup with Tennessee Martin but finishes strong

Her first NCAA tournament game.

Her first time playing since being named espnW’s National Freshman of the Year.

But it was her third.

Freshman guard Diamond DeShields picked up her third technical foul of the year in the North Carolina women’s basketball team’s ACC Tournament semifinal loss to Duke March 8.

UNC’s team policy prohibits players from starting the following game after picking up a technical foul.

So DeShields began No. 4 seed UNC’s first-round matchup with 13th-seeded Tennessee Martin in a cushioned seat on the bench.

Having started 29 of 32 games she played in this year heading into Saturday , it was atypical for DeShields not to hear her named called in opening-game player announcements.

But at the same time, the confident guard admitted it was unfazing.

“It didn’t matter,” she said. “There’s consequences for your actions. I respect it. It didn’t upset me in any way.

“I just had to come off the bench and produce.”

And that DeShields ultimately did, finishing the game with a team-high 15 points in UNC's 60-58 win against UT Martin.  

But perhaps the broken routine of being on the floor did — in the slightest bit — throw off UNC’s season-leading scorer.

Associate head coach Andrew Calder wasted no time, motioning DeShields to head to the scorer’s table to check in just less than five minutes into the game.

But once she got in, things were a little off. Maybe it was a little rust as UNC hadn’t played a game in 15 days. Or maybe it was the Skyhawk double teams DeShields met each time she caught the ball.

Regardless, DeShields entered the locker room at halftime with just two points, on free throws, after shooting 0-for-4 from the field.

“I knew there was some things that I didn’t do in the first half that I needed to improve on in the second half in order for us to win that game,” she said.

She laughed following the game when asked if she called UNC men’s point guard Marcus Paige , who’s known for jaw-dropping second halves after a stagnant opening 20 minutes in games, for tips to shake off her slump.

Second-half Marcus, he’s been knighted. But on Saturday, while Paige and the men’s basketball team got set for its round of 32 matchup with Iowa State in San Antonio , Carmichael Arena got to see the second-half Diamond show.

The curtain rose for this performance with 8:59 left in the game and UNC trailing 50-37 as DeShields crashed the glass for a rebound on a UNC free throw and her neck met the vicious elbow of UT Martin’s Tiara Caldwell.

After deliberation, the referees called a flagrant-1 foul, awarding DeShields with two free throws and UNC with the ball.

She toed the line. Two swishes. Next possession — DeShields attacked the basket and scored.

Her aggressiveness continued and translated to the scoreboard with the help of what she sees as the simplest part of the game.

“There are certain things that you definitely can control and I feel like a free throw is one of them,” said Deshields, who finished 9-for-9 from the charity stripe. "Free throw's a free shot. There’s no defense, no foul. And I just felt like if you want to get yourself going you gotta be able to do it on the free throw line.”

When DeShields fought her way to the rim and onto the score sheet, the Skyhawks panicked, making the mistake many teams have this season — underestimating her passing ability.

With her team trailing 53-51 with 3:28 left in the game, DeShields found space. But she passed up the shot. Literally.

“Teams put so much emphasis on her shot, her drive and her pump fake. But when you put so much emphasis on one player, it leaves everybody else wide open,” said junior guard Danielle Butts. “You know when Diamond is about to pass the ball because you can see her eyes — her eyes get real big. So it’s like, ‘Ok, be ready for it.’”

And No. 11 was. After receiving a pass from DeShields, Brittany Rountree drilled a 3-pointer to give UNC a one-point lead it would ultimately extend and leave the court with.

A few minutes later and DeShields was still her aggressive self. Only this time, she elected to shoot not pass, leading her to hear a blaring whistle as a referee called her fifth and final foul on a charge with 1:34 left.

Her afternoon ended where it began. But she wasn’t worried.

“I had plenty of faith in them,” she said. “It wasn’t me hanging my head. I wasn’t down. Because we still had a ball game to win and it wasn’t about me. It was about the team. They got some huge stops and I expected that of them. I wasn’t shocked at all. I was very comfortable on the bench cheering them on.”

There she sat, the second-half Diamond show over. But she’d done her job — even if that meant she had to come off the bench.