Rickea Jackson couldn’t help dancing during the breaks in warmups on Tuesday.

She was back from a lower leg injury, and she was ready to play. The energy was different going into Lady Vols basketball’s matchup with Wofford (7-5), and it showed in the 85-63 win at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Tennessee (6-5) looked like a different team with Jackson back in the lineup for the first time since Nov. 9.

“She steps on the court and she changes things,” Tennessee coach Kellie Harper said. “Her presence affects them when they step on the court. She gives them great confidence.”

Jackson had 11 points, six rebounds, two assists and a block in 21 minutes Tuesday. Harper said Jackson still isn’t 100% yet and was impressed she was able to play as long as she did in her first game back. The senior forward missed eight games due to the injury, which happened right before Tennessee’s toughest stretch of nonconference play.

Jackson understandably had a slower start, but she got going in the second half when she scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds in 12 minutes.

“Having Kea back, it’s always good to have her. We’ve been waiting a while to have her back,” senior point guard Jasmine Powell said. “I’m glad we got the question now, how good is it to have her back instead of, how do you feel with her out? But she’s great for us.”

Jackson had one of her typical and-one plays in the second half, and junior forward Sara Puckett’s reaction said it all.

“It was great to see that, because we haven’t seen it in awhile,” Puckett said. “I was just really happy for her to be able to get back out there and still produce and show what she’s still capable of. And she’s been doing that in practice this week, too. So just really proud of her and how she just came back so easily in the flow of things.”