AP Photo / Danny Johnston

Candace Parker of Tennessee is attended to by trainer Jenny Moshak, right, and coach Pat Summitt during Tuesday’s game against Texas A&M in Oklahoma City. Parker dislocated her left shoulder twice in the game.

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TAMPA, Fla. - Jenny Moshak is a bicyclist, not a runner. But have you seen anyone run faster in this women's NCAA basketball tournament?

Moshak sprinted onto national television Tuesday night just as the Tennessee-Texas A&M game came to a painful stop. Your average point guard doesn't move with greater alacrity or purpose.

It wasn't a race. It was a rescue.

UT player Candace Parker was wincing in pain, and Moshak was providing emergency medical care.

Speed is still an issue for UT's best player and its veteran athletic trainer. The Lady Vols play LSU in the Final Four semifinals Sunday night, and the condition of Parker's dislocated left shoulder is crucial to the outcome.

"If there's a waking moment, when she doesn't have some other responsibility, we'll be together - outside of eating or some other sort of thing," Moshak said. "She's dedicated to this, and so am I."

Rehabbing under the deadline pressure of the NCAA tournament is a new experience for Parker. It's all too familiar for Moshak, who has helped extend more than one tournament venture in her 19 years with the Lady Vols.

She pulled off her most famous deadline rehabilitation 11 years ago after point guard Kellie Jolly suffered an ankle injury in the NCAA tournament.

"Doctors knew if we got on it right away we could make a difference," Moshak said.

So Moshak and Jolly went to work, and they kept working in the UT training room for 48 hours. Sleep was limited to catnaps.

"Every 30 minutes, we'd change the treatment process," Moshak said. "We had to keep the swelling and pain as minimal as possible."

The regimen was a rousing success. Jolly was ready for the next game, and the Lady Vols were on their way to a national championship.

As for the lost sleep, Moshak said, "You can sleep after you get the ring."

A couple of years later, Moshak executed another 48-hour, round-the-clock rehab - this time with guard Semeka Randall, who suffered a similar ankle injury in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

The deadline was even more pressing Tuesday night. And Moshak never worked faster.

How fast was she? She was almost technical-foul fast.

There's an established order for such matters: An injury occurs, an official notices the injury and signals to the appropriate bench, and the trainer comes onto the floor to assist the injured player.

Moshak skipped step three.

"I paused and waited," Moshak said. "The officials were just kind of looking at each other. And then, I just said, 'Forget it and ran out there anyway.'

"I was waiting for the technical, but I really didn't care. They saw she was in distress, so they weren't going to deny me access to her."

Parker wasn't the only one in distress. So was every UT player, coach and fan.

More than Parker's left shoulder was out of place. The Lady Vols' tournament schedule was out of whack as well. It was supposed to end with the Final Four, not in an NCAA regional against Texas A&M.

With a cram course of rehab and the assistance of a stabilizing shoulder sleeve, Parker returned to the game and played well enough under the circumstances to help put UT in the Final Four. The rehabilitation will continue until Sunday night's game.

"We'll work on any swelling she might have," Moshak said. "We're also working on range of motion. And we're working on strength. The stronger I can get her, the better off she will be."

Moshak's worth is magnified by tournament injuries. But the health of the Lady Vols athletic department reflects more than Moshak's crisis management.

As the assistant athletics director for sports medicine, she oversees the training, rehabilitation and strength and conditioning for all Lady Vols student-athletes. She doesn't have to race onto the court in the heat of battle to help an athlete. Much of her work is preventive.

But you can't prevent everything. Ankles roll over. Ligaments tear. Shoulders dislocate. Then, more than ever, you need what Lady Vols publicist Debby Jennings calls, "the Moshak magic."

Her magic act requires a willing accomplice. She has that in Parker, who was determined to return to the court as soon as her shoulder was maneuvered back into place.

As UT coach Pat Summitt prepared to board the team bus Friday, she was asked about Moshak and Parker. She used the word "superstar."

She wasn't referring to her All-American.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.