The social media world can be cruel at times.
After
Mayfield (Las Cruces) lost to Clovis 62-48 in last year's New Mexico 5A girls basketball state championship game, senior wing-post
Daeshianna McCants started to hear comments that she threw the game away.
Not in the literal sense of folding under the pressure. No, these accusations were much worse, an arrow aimed at the heart of her character.
Daeshianna McCants, Mayfield
Courtesy photo
"I got a lot of rude comments saying that I threw the game away for (Clovis standout) Danni (Williams, the 2012-13 New Mexico Gatorade Player of the Year) because we're really close," said the 6-foot-1 McCants, a UTEP signee. "I heard those comments all the way until the last day of school, and it was pretty silly. I'm determined to get our team back to the state finals and win it."
The Trojans (12-2), who play at Gadsden (Anthony) on Friday, certainly look like a team on a mission, as they have not lost to an in-state team this season (their only two losses came to schools from El Paso, Texas). Longtime Mayfield coach George Maya credits McCants for being the ultimate team player.
"Daeshi has always been dependable," said Maya, who is in his 19th season at Mayfield. "She's always worried about the team first, and it's one of the big reasons why we've been successful. Last summer was the perfect example.
"Daeshi plays on an AAU team, but she still managed to play with our summer team for all but one camp. That meant a lot to me and her teammates. She's done whatever we've asked of her, making a lot of sacrifices along the way. Now she's been rewarded."
McCants, who is averaging 16.2 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game, possesses a versatile game that puts tremendous pressure on the opposition. McCants can take smaller defenders down on the low block, blow past bigger defenders off the dribble, and knock down a mid-range jumper.
However, McCants' biggest asset lies in her mental toughness. Growing up with two brothers will do that to you. Johnny, 18, and DaeMun, 15, who are 6-6 and 6-5, respectively, never took it easy on their sister as the trio played basketball growing up.
"They fouled me hard to the ground a lot of times," McCants said. "I didn't really cry as much as I got mad. I wanted to play physical with them and not let them push me around. Playing with my brothers definitely made me a better and tougher player."
McCants has an insatiable desire to improve. Case in point: Up until this season, McCants was a poor free throw shooter. Maya didn't have the exact percentage but said that McCants probably shot "a little over 50 percent" in her first three years. This season, however, McCants has come up clutch from the charity stripe late in games.
McCants' struggles at the line last year were so pronounced that she often hoped she wouldn't get fouled in the act of shooting for fear that she would have to shoot free throws.
"Every time I was at the line, I would look at my teammates and say to myself, ‘Oh God, help me,'" McCants said. "But I can make free throws now."
McCants spent a good portion of her offseason practicing her free throws, at times shooting hundreds of shots a day. It's that type of commitment that earned McCants a full-ride scholarship to play at UTEP next season.
"She's our 25th player (in the last 19 years) who will be playing in college," Maya said. "She's probably our 10th Division I (signee), and it's no surprise. Daeshi is so strong physically, and she's carried us at times. She's really mobile and runs the floor like a quick guard."
Although there are a number of strong 5A teams this season, don't be surprised to see a rematch of last year's state final come March. Clovis looks as strong as ever, but Mayfield is improved from a year ago, too.
"We won state in my freshman year, and I just want to have that feeling again in my final year of playing high school ball," McCants said. "I just remember watching the seniors and how hard they worked, and I told myself I could get to the D-I level."
And so it is.
