AAAAA basketball blog: DeShields scores 10 in return from injury; Norcross wins

Diamond DeShields, the 2011 state player of the year who missed seven games with a fracture in her left wrist, returned Tuesday and led Norcross to a 52-38 victory over Mountain View in a Region 7-AAAAA game at Peachtree Ridge.

DeShields, a junior, missed her first six shots and was held to 10 points but had seven assists and three blocked shots, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post. Shayla Cooper, another junior who is rated among the top 30 players in the class of 2013, had 21 points and seven rebounds.

Norcross was 5-2 without DeShields with losses against Mill Creek and North Gwinnett that cost the Lady Blue Devils, the defending Class AAAAA champion, the No. 1 seed in the tournament.

‘’Diamond is an incredible player, probably one of the best if not the best in her class in the country, but others have been getting it done in her absence,’’ Norcross coach Angie Hembree said. “Now that she’s back, we hope to be in a position to make a good run.’’

Norcorss plays in the semifinals Friday against the winner of Wednesday’s Peachtree Ridge-Collins Hill game. North Gwinnett, the No. 1 seed, plays the Mill Creek-Duluth winner in the other semifinal. Both are at Meadowcreek.

Here is the updated schedule of region tournaments this week in Class AAAAA. All scores through Tuesday are recorded.

Class AAAAA region tournament schedule