Karoline Striplin knew.

Striplin, from scrolling on Twitter, knew that Jordan Horston was just eight assists short of joining a legendary club on Sunday. That eighth assist came on a no-look pass to a driving Rickea Jackson to grow the lead to 12 with just 0:57 seconds left in the game against Vanderbilt. 

“I was like, wow, Jordan’s about to get this, she’s going to be up there with the four,” Striplin said. “I was glad she did. That was crazy. I was excited for her.”

The senior from Columbus, Ohio is just the fourth player in Lady Vols history to register 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 400 assists. She finished Sunday with 13 points, eight boards, and eight assists while only turning the ball over once. 

She joins the elite company of Kara Lawson, Dena Head, and Alexis Hornbuckle, or “the four,” as Striplin put it. 

As long as Tennessee is winning, Horston does not care about personal milestones. 

“Like I always say, I just play to win,” Horston said. “I just do what I need to do to try to win the game and then whatever happens, happens. But it is a great accomplishment. To see those people that I’m up there with, I never would have thought about that. But like I said, I just focus on just trying to win.”

Horston has done a lot of playing to win in her career. In 96 games, she has 1,169 points, 599 rebounds, and 400 assists. 

Playing more on the wing this season, Horston has brought her production to an all-time high. She is dishing out assists at a career-high level, while her turnovers are down.

Without taking in the Lady Vols’ turnover mania in the season opener, Horston is averaging just 1.6 turnovers a game. She leads the team with 62 assists this season. 

“I think the game has slowed down so much throughout her career,” former point guard and Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper said. “When she was a freshman, it was going so fast. But she’s in great command right now when she has the basketball.”

You can’t deny Horston’s playmaking ability. She has played her way onto the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 list. 

She is also undeniably going to be an early first-round pick in the WNBA draft. Her versatility and skill set will make her an indispensable piece to a pro team. 

She is averaging 15.8 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game, and 3.8 assists per game through 18 games this season. 

Horston earned praise from Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph following Sunday’s game. 

“She’s a big guard that can score, that can get her own shot, and there’s a couple different ways you can play players like that,” Ralph said. “But when they become high IQ basketball players and learn how to share the ball with their teammates, it’s almost impossible to defend.”

At 6-foot-2, Horston’s length and quick twitch makes her virtually impossible to guard, as Ralph said. Her length also makes her a menace on the defensive end, averaging 1.5 steals a game and almost a block a game. 

Horston is everywhere on the court, a clear leader for the Lady Vols, and now she has cemented her place in the rich Lady Vols’ history. 

“She is always looking to make a play,” Harper said of Horston. “The thing about her, when she has the ball, there’s not very many times that she’s just going to kick it up top and say let’s try something else. She is literally trying to make a play every time she has the basketball, and that is what makes her so dangerous to the opponents.”