Hornbuckle provides pointed assistance

Alexis Hornbuckle is happy to be back where she belongs - on the court and directing Tennessee's offense.

NORFOLK -- The half-court shot never had a chance, bouncing off the top of the backboard and into the stands.

But the smile on Alexis Hornbuckle's face was as wide as if she'd just sunk the 45-footer to win a national championship.

Hornbuckle, Tennessee's starting point guard, didn't figure to factor into the Lady Vols' postseason push after breaking her right wrist Feb. 12 against Vanderbilt. But doctors told Hornbuckle on Thursday that the injury had healed enough for her to play in today's first-round NCAA tournament game against Army.

"There was the biggest the smile on my face," Hornbuckle said. "I was cheesing from ear to ear."

That expression seems ever-present for Hornbuckle, a 5-foot-11 sophomore from Charleston, W.Va.

Taping stimulating electrodes to her wrist in the Lady Vols locker room on Saturday afternoon, Hornbuckle laughed while fielding reporters' questions.

As the Lady Vols conducted their first practice on the Ted Constant Convocation Center court, she smiled as her baseline jumper swished through the net. And after her half-court heave went long at the end of practice, her grin stretched across her face as she turned and playfully flexed an arm muscle.

"I'm such a competitive person. I always want to be on the floor," she said. "I could be having a broken leg, not able to walk, and I'm still gonna want to play, no matter what."

Hornbuckle's teammates may be the only people happier that her 10.4 points and 3.9 assists per game are back in the lineup.

"Just energy-wise, she's a huge presence, defensively and offensively," freshman Candace Parker said. "She's our only true point guard, and teams aren't gonna press us as much because they know that we have a ballhandler."

With the Lady Vols' backcourt already depleted by the transfer of Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood, Hornbuckle's absence turned Tennessee into a three-forward team.

Parker, a 6-foot-4 forward, was pressed into point guard duties in the Lady Vols' 58-55 win at Georgia four days after Hornbuckle got hurt.

But the Lady Vols lost just once - 95-93 to Florida in overtime on Feb. 26 - with senior Shanna Zolman directing their offense.

On March 5, Tennessee (28-4) won its second straight SEC title with a 63-62 victory over LSU as Hornbuckle watched.

"During our SEC run, she was so involved, talking to players," Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt said.

On Saturday, the cast that stopped a few inches above her right wrist didn't seem to bother Hornbuckle as she smoothly switched her dribble from her left hand to her right.

She'll wear a splint today, when Summitt expects her to play against an Army team making its first Division I NCAA appearance.

"I'm not concerned about her shooting. I'm more concerned about her getting other people shots, and she's been doing that in practice, left-handed," Summitt said. " ... I don't know if she can shoot a BB in the ocean, but I know she can make you guard her."