Former Lady Vol basketball player Jannah Tucker overcame a nightmare and kept playing

As Jannah Tucker describes the ticking clock on her college basketball career, and her role on Villanova’s NCAA tournament-bound team, and her transfer from the University of Tennessee — and the reason for her delayed start at Tennessee — and the attempts now to extend her college career by one semester, her words veer away from knee surgeries and her play on the court.

“I got the protective order the day after I escaped,” Tucker said in a recent interview in Villanova’s basketball office.

Related: Court documents shed light on reasons why Jannah Tucker didn't attend UT

Related: Court and police documents in the Jannah Tucker case

Related: Domestic violence is a real story for Tennessee guard Jannah Tucker

Tucker talked of once having “a whole plan” for her hoops career. She was Tennessee’s first recruit in the post-Pat Summitt era, one of the top dozen high school players nationally in her class coming out of Baltimore, a 30-points-a-game scorer as a high school junior.

Two knee surgeries changed her physical abilities, but her story isn’t about damaged ligaments. Tucker recites a psychological torture straight out of a movie — not just a teenage relationship filled with domestic violence but an actual hostage situation spanning weeks. She was the hostage.

Continue reading at Philly.com.

More Lady Vols Headlines:

Former Lady Vol basketball player Jannah Tucker overcame a nightmare and kept playing

How to watch Tennessee Lady Vols vs. Liberty in NCAA basketball tournament

Third-seeded Tennessee Lady Vols to play Liberty in NCAA basketball tournament

Tennessee's newest specialty license plate features Lady Vols legendary coach Pat Summitt

Tennessee Lady Vols preparing to be NCAA tournament hosts

Complete results from the 2018 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament

How to watch 2018 SEC women's basketball tournament championship game Sunday

Tennessee Lady Vols' issues only begin with missed