CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- As she did for four seasons at the University of Tennessee, Alexis Hornbuckle still gravitates to the "dirty work,'' as her Lady Vols coach, Pat Summitt, used to say so approvingly.

In so doing, the former Capital and South Charleston star has added another championship to her monstrous collection.

Playing her customary reserve role, Hornbuckle scored nine points and shared rebounding honors with nine, helping the Detroit Shock down the San Antonio Silver Stars 76-60 Sunday in Ypsilanti, Mich., to clinch the WNBA title in her rookie season. It was Detroit's third championship in six years.

Hornbuckle, a recent Tennessee graduate with a degree in sociology, was part of two NCAA championships with the Lady Vols, contributed to four West Virginia Class AAA championships and helped her Dunbar team win the Kanawha County middle school tournament.

As a professional player, her job description hasn't changed much since her college days. 

"It was similar to my role at Tennessee, more so my first two years when I was just expected to play defense, rebound and bring some energy and some intangibles,'' Hornbuckle said Monday from Detroit.

In 34 regular-season games this season, the 5-foot-11 guard averaged 5.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 22 minutes off the bench. In nine postseason games, she averaged 6.3 points and was third on the team in rebounding with 4.9.

As a senior at Tennessee, the Dunbar native averaged 9.9 points and, as Summitt noted when the Lady Vols visited the Charleston Civic Center last November, she contributed more than numbers.

"I really respect her commitment to defense and board play because that's the dirty work in the game that a lot of players aren't as excited about being involved in,'' said Summitt. "You can count on Alexis.''

On Monday, Hornbuckle and her teammates participated in a victory celebration in downtown Detroit, and next week she will head off to Turkey where she'll play in another professional league that will continue until May.

"I don't know much about it,'' she said. "The team I'm playing for came in second last year. Just about every [WNBA] player goes overseas. The league is about half Turkish players and a great amount of WNBA players.''

She plans to continue playing in the WNBA "for three, four, five years. Who knows?'' she said. "I probably enjoyed it more [than college basketball]. You have a lot more freedom. It's different from college. You're on your own. It's a job, a business. It's your responsibility to be where you're supposed to be and be focused for practice and games.''

Reach Mike Whiteford at 348-7948 or mikewhitef...@wvgazette.com

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- As she did for four seasons at the University of Tennessee, Alexis Hornbuckle still gravitates to the "dirty work,'' as her Lady Vols coach, Pat Summitt, used to say so approvingly.

In so doing, the former Capital and South Charleston star has added another championship to her monstrous collection.

Playing her customary reserve role, Hornbuckle scored nine points and shared rebounding honors with nine, helping the Detroit Shock down the San Antonio Silver Stars 76-60 Sunday in Ypsilanti, Mich., to clinch the WNBA title in her rookie season. It was Detroit's third championship in six years.

Hornbuckle, a recent Tennessee graduate with a degree in sociology, was part of two NCAA championships with the Lady Vols, contributed to four West Virginia Class AAA championships and helped her Dunbar team win the Kanawha County middle school tournament.

As a professional player, her job description hasn't changed much since her college days. 

"It was similar to my role at Tennessee, more so my first two years when I was just expected to play defense, rebound and bring some energy and some intangibles,'' Hornbuckle said Monday from Detroit.

In 34 regular-season games this season, the 5-foot-11 guard averaged 5.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 22 minutes off the bench. In nine postseason games, she averaged 6.3 points and was third on the team in rebounding with 4.9.

As a senior at Tennessee, the Dunbar native averaged 9.9 points and, as Summitt noted when the Lady Vols visited the Charleston Civic Center last November, she contributed more than numbers.

"I really respect her commitment to defense and board play because that's the dirty work in the game that a lot of players aren't as excited about being involved in,'' said Summitt. "You can count on Alexis.''

On Monday, Hornbuckle and her teammates participated in a victory celebration in downtown Detroit, and next week she will head off to Turkey where she'll play in another professional league that will continue until May.

"I don't know much about it,'' she said. "The team I'm playing for came in second last year. Just about every [WNBA] player goes overseas. The league is about half Turkish players and a great amount of WNBA players.''

She plans to continue playing in the WNBA "for three, four, five years. Who knows?'' she said. "I probably enjoyed it more [than college basketball]. You have a lot more freedom. It's different from college. You're on your own. It's a job, a business. It's your responsibility to be where you're supposed to be and be focused for practice and games.''

Reach Mike Whiteford at 348-7948 or mikewhitef...@wvgazette.com