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Tennessee Lady Vols now have formula to take pressure off Jordan Horston

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee guard Jordan Horston (25) yells out after drawing a foul against South Florida in the final minutes of the NCAA women's basketball game between the Tennessee Lady Vols and South Florida Bulls in Knoxville, Tenn. Monday, November 15, 2021.Kns Lady Hoops Usf
Tennessee guard Jordan Horston (25) yells out after drawing a foul against South Florida in the final minutes of the NCAA women's basketball game between the Tennessee Lady Vols and South Florida Bulls in Knoxville, Tenn. Monday, November 15, 2021.Kns Lady Hoops Usf /
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Once Rae Burrell was ruled out indefinitely after an injury in the Tennessee Lady Vols’ season-opening win over the Southern Illinois Salukis, it became clear that Jordan Horston would have to become the star. Of course, she was hurt in that game too, so UT held on.

Since then, though, Horston has stepped up. Despite a turnover issue, which comes with shouldering such a huge load, Horston led the team in scoring over the next five games, which included two wins over top 25 teams, three wins over Power Five teams and a road win over the defending American Athletic Conference co-champion.

However, it was clear that without Burrell, the Tennessee Lady Vols, who are 7-0 and ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll and No. 10 in the Coaches Poll, would have to find elsewhere. It was only against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, but they may have found it.

Tess Darby and Alexus Dye did exactly what they were brought on to do in UT’s 76-48 win vs. TTU Wednesday night. Darby went 4-of-6 from the three-point line en route to 12 points, and Dye led the team in scoring with 20 points and nine rebounds. Tamari Key did her part as well with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Horston, meanwhile, only had nine points.

With that, Harper now has the formula to take pressure off Horston. Dye was a double-double machine with the Troy Trojans, and there was a reason she was Sun Belt Player of the Year. She needs to remain the biggest threat under the basket with Keyen Green helping out and doing the same thing off the bench.

Meanwhile, Darby was recruited specifically to be a three-point specialist. If she can keep up what she did Wednesday, UT will have the perfect inside-out game. Sara Puckett, who also hit a three-pointer in that game, could spell Darby.

Of course, Key can still do the dirty work underneath the basket, particularly on defense, while Dye does the finesse work. All of this frees up Horston to do what she does best, which is force turnovers on the perimeter, create buckets in transition and slash to the basket if everything breaks down.

It’s clear that this team will go as Horston goes, but how Horston goes depends on whether or not Dye and Darby can keep this up. Key has proven what she is and what she will do. If those other two come along, the Tennessee Lady Vols have a complete team.

Add in the eventual return of Burrell, and UT will have everything. Of course, Burrell is another elite three-point shooter in addition to many other things, so she would take Darby’s place, but Darby being a threat off the bench would still be a huge deal.

Until that time, though, this is what the Tennessee Lady Vols need to do. The offense should go through Dye down low and Darby on the perimeter, and Horston should be the go-to scorer if everything breaks down. Without having the same pressure that’s been hoisted on her, she’ll probably be able to reduce her turnovers as well.