MYRTLE BEACH -- Norcross hopped off the bus after a seven-hour drive, had two hours to prepare and then systematically dismantled another overmatched opponent.
The Georgia school and consensus top-10 team in the country beat Socastee 63-5 on Saturday in the first round of the Crescent Bank Holiday Invitational. In the process, the Lady Blue showed why they may be the team to beat in this year's tournament.
"How would you feel if you were getting beat that bad?" all-everything Norcross guard/forward Diamond DeShields said after the lopsided win. "Our coach always says, there's going to be somebody better; there's always going to be someone worse."
The majority of Norcross' opponents this year are going to fall into that latter category, and the Lady Blue showed why on Saturday. They passed the ball and defended with the precision accustomed to college teams.
That's not all that surprising, considering Norcross has a handful of future NCAA Division I players.
DeShields, for instance, is a Parade All-American, and she's just a sophomore. DeShields has already taken a recruiting trip to UConn, the nation's No. 1 team. She also plans future trips to schools such as Baylor, and she has no intention of giving a verbal commitment any time soon.
But DeShields, the daughter of former Major League Baseball player Delino DeShields, is not the only player for Norcross (9-0 and ranked No. 6 in the USA Today Super 25 girls basketball poll).
In fact, DeShields sort of blended into the background for much of Saturday's game. The Lady Blue came at Socastee in waves, and most of the starters played less than half of the opening 16 minutes.
The Braves countered with three sophomores and an eighth-grader in the starting lineup.
And it didn't matter that weather forced Norcross to get to Myrtle Beach two hours later than originally planned. Socastee didn't score its first points until there were eight minutes left. At that point, Braves sophomore Blake Smith connected on a pair of free throws to make it 53-2.
By that point, everyone at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center had tabbed Norcross as one of the favorites.
"There are a lot of good teams in this tournament; that's why we're here," Lady Blue coach Angie Hembree said.
"We want to play the best competition that we can, and at the same time I love playing different styles."
Norcross' defense held Socastee to just eight shots in each half.
Moving forward, the Georgia Class AAAAA defending champions believe their chances this week are as good as any.
"If we play Norcross basketball, I know we can win this," DeShields said. "We're winners. We don't lose. If we do what we're supposed to do, we'll be fine."
NORCROSS (63) - Bri Williams 2, Diamond DeShields 9, Dearica Hamby 8, Tori Carter 4, Alex DeMercy 7, Javonne Stanfield 2, Sheena Hartley 2, Emanee Cobb 4, Shiala Cooper 11, Patrice Butler 6, Kolby Meeks 2, Sierra Butler 4, Jasmine Kemp 2.
SOCASTEE (5) - Blake Smith 2, Sandreona Grant 3.
Halftime: Norcross 43-0. 3-point goals: Norcross 5 (DeShields 1, DeMercy 1, Cooper 3), Socastee 1 (Grant). Team fouls: Norcross 8, Socastee 8. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None.
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