More often than not, a program’s successes are defined by its star talent, particularly by the time March rolls around. Conference tournaments and the NCAA Tournament are when the lights shine brightest, and even if a team has had a subpar or disappointing regular season, it can make a run at just the right time and finish things on a high note if its best players are up to the task.
The Tennessee Lady Vols, whose 2022-23 season got off to a rocky start, are a great example. The poor non-conference performances, injuries and lineup shifts that marred the first half of Tennessee’s season are now a distant memory; the Lady Vols will be playing for the 2023 SEC Tournament championship, and it’s thanks largely to the play of senior guard Jordan Horston.
Horston, whose career at Tennessee had to a point been characterized by both tantalizing promise and frustrating inconsistency, has stepped up when the Lady Vols need her the most. The 6-foot-2 guard has played her best basketball as a senior, teaming up with high-profile transfer Rickea Jackson to form one of the country’s most explosive perimeter scoring duos — though their individual games are quite different. Whereas Jackson glides up and down the court with long, efficient strides and owns the free throw line…
