Stopping UNC rookie DeShields a tough task

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Diamond DeShields has proven she can beat any defense thrown at her.

North Carolina’s star freshman shoots the 3, reliably knocks down pull-up jumpers and scores off the dribble. Now she has the Tar Heels in the NCAA tournament’s round of 16, and the challenge of stopping her next falls to South Carolina in the Stanford Regional on Sunday.

DeShields says she is well-rounded enough to post up smaller defenders and drive by bigger ones.

Now it’s up to the top-seeded Gamecocks to slow her. Coach Dawn Staley says DeShields “was born to play this game” and her team has to make DeShields work for her points. Though Staley says the 6-foot-1 rookie is “a hard guard for us and any team she’s facing.”