Last season, after playing just 15 games for Mississippi State, Rickea Jackson decided to enter the transfer portal for her fourth collegiate season. Before departing from Starkville, the Detroit, Michigan native was scoring an SEC-high 20.3 points per game to go along with 6.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists.
After being widely considered the top transfer in the country, Jackson ultimately decided to join Tennessee for the 2022-23 campaign. The Lady Vols were also in the race for Jackson out of high school before the nation's No. 5 recruit picked the Bulldogs.
The beginning of her Lady Vols career didn't go as planned, though. She sat out for a stretch of games midway through out-of-conference play before returning to the rotation. However, following this absence, she has dominated in her time off the bench.
In Tennessee's first two SEC games of the season, Jackson refused to let the Lady Vols lose. In the opener against Florida, she scored a remarkable 28 points on 10-for-13 shooting while adding nine rebounds.
In the ensuing battle vs. Alabama, Jackson earned 22 points on 10-for-14 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and three assists. This pair of phenomenal performances earned her SEC Player of the Week honors.
However, nowJackson was forced to welcome an all too familiar opponent to her new home. In an attempt to stay undefeated in SEC play, the Lady Vols hosted Mississippi State on Thursday.
With the history between Jackson and her former team, the game was set to be an emotional affair for both sides. Jackson was able to lean on her new teammates for help, though.
"In terms of (Mississippi State) being Rickea (Jackson's) old school, I think you have to acknowledge the emotion and you have to be able to handle that as a team," said Tennessee coach Kellie Harper before the game. "Again, everyone on our roster has the focus on the present and what we need to be doing each and every possession. I think once you start doing that, you take some of that emotion out of it."
However, early in the game, emotions flared following Jackson corralling an offensive rebound and getting blocked on the putback. Jerkaila Jordan and Jackson shared words and both players were quickly assessed technical fouls.
This interaction came midway through the second quarter. At that point, Jackson had scored six points in her time off the bench. She was subbed out of the game following the technical foul but came back with a vengeance.
Jackson scored the Lady Vols' final six points of the half after checking back in. This burst of scoring resulted in a nine-point lead heading into the break.
Then, in the third quarter, Jackson continued to find success against her former team. She totaled six points in the quarter to continue to create separation over the Bulldogs.
Ultimately, Jackson would get the last laugh over Mississippi State. She scored 18 points, grabbed six offensive rebounds and dished out an assist in the contest. Most importantly, she was on the winning side as Tennessee came away with an 80-69 win.
As planned, Jackson was able to rely on her teammates during the game. Despite picking up the early technical, the Lady Vols rallied around her to give her support. This pre-game plan was a big factor in the victory.
"I thought our team stuck together," said Harper. "I thought our team pulled for each other. The communication was good. I thought it was really positive. I thought that there were a few times that we were low energy. I thought they picked each other up during that time. Not just for Rickea (Jackson) in that situation, but overall. Everything from my perspective that I saw was really positive."
The game wasn't just meaningful for Jackson, though. The rest of the team knew the emotions that came when playing a former team. Due to this, Tennessee was even happier than usual to come away with a win.
Helping gain the positive outcome was Jordan Horston. Horston has been long-time friends with Jackson even before becoming college teammates. Against the Bulldogs, Horston recorded 27 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, two blocks and a steal.
"We wanted this bad," said Horston. "I'm glad we got this win. We got it for (Jackson) because you know, who wouldn't want to beat their old team? So I'm just happy we won, and we won in a classy way."
For Jackson, the battle was a great experience. On top of winning, she said that it was a fun encounter.
"Again, we treat every opponent the same, but it was fun," said Jackson. "Being able to play against people that you know, it's just fun. I was just having a great time."
With the win, the Lady Vols improve to 3-0 in conference play. Next, they'll travel to Nashville to face Vanderbilt on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. ET and the game will air on the SEC Network.
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