Out of high school, Rickea Jackson was considered a five/star prospect and the fifth-best recruit in the country by ESPN. She would ultimately commit to Mississippi State where she spent her first three seasons. However, after playing just 15 games in her junior year, she entered the transfer portal.
During the offseason, Jackson decided she would take her star power to Knoxville and join Tennessee.
Earlier in the year, she ran into her former team for the first time. The former Bulldog star dominated as she helped lead the Lady Vols to an 80-69 win in Knoxville. Jackson finished with 18 points on 9-for-20 shooting in her 27 minutes off the bench. She also added six rebounds and an assist in her effort.
The battle did not lack emotions, though. After coming down with an offensive rebound and getting blocked, Jackson shared words with former teammate JerKaila Jordan. Both players were whistled for technical fouls.
Heading into the first matchup, Tennessee coach Kellie Harper said the team would acknowledge the emotions of the affair but focus on the present to help take the emotion out of it.
The same approach was used this time around.
"I would imagine it would be emotional for Rickea (Jackson), first time back,” Harper said before the game. “I think the important thing for her is to continue to stay locked in on what she’s doing. Be in the moment, whether that is practice or the game, and utilize her teammates to help her do that."
In the rematch on Monday, this tactic paid off for her — again. Despite the team falling 91-90 in double overtime, Jackson once again had a strong performance. She finished with 28 points on 7-for-18 shooting and a perfect 13-for-13 shooting from the line.
This marked her ninth 20-point effort of the year and raises her SEC scoring average to 20.7 points per game. Her 28 points ties her season-high, as well.
She also added 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal to notch a double-double. It was her second double-double of the 2022-23 campaign.
This impressive night started early. Jackson scored the first points of the game and was tied for the lead in points at halftime with eight.
However, where she made the biggest impact was down the stretch. In the fourth quarter, Jackson reached seven points. This included a pair of free throws following a technical foul to tie the game and ultimately send it to overtime.
The Lady Vols even looked to her on the final possession of regulation for a game-winning shot but she was put in a bad situation leading to a turnover.
In the first overtime period, Jackson came through again. With the team trailing by four, she scored the final four points of overtime to force a second period.
Her effort would prove to be futile but it was still an incredible performance that helped keep the team afloat. Without this clutch showing, the game likely would have never gone to overtime to begin with.
Despite coming up short, Tennessee tried to help Jackson down the stretch. Harper attempted to find the right combinations to exploit her talent, but the Bulldogs still came out on top.
"(Jackson is) obviously really competitive," said Harper. "She's going to play hard and she's going to do everything she can. I think we have to continue to work to help her. Put her in positions to be able to continue to make those plays. We were trying to do that. We were doing a lot of substituting trying to figure out what combinations were going to allow us to have great execution on the offensive end with our spacing. And then obviously trying to find five players that could defend, as well."
Following the loss, Jackson's season point average has moved to 18.1 points per game — good for third in the SEC. This has come on an extremely efficient 54% shooting from the field. She also currently averages six rebounds per contest, as well.
These remarkable stats have even landed her on the Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Women's Midseason Team alongside teammate Jordan Horston. The list of 30 players are the leaders in contention for the award that honors the best player in college basketball.
Following a draining night featuring 46 minutes on the floor, Jackson will get a week off to recover. Tennessee's next game isn't until Sunday when the Lady Vols host Vanderbilt. Tennessee already defeated the Commodores 84-71 in Nashville earlier in the season. The second battle will tipoff at 2 p.m. ET and air on SEC Network+.
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