Rickea Jackson’s career-high 25-point performance against the Dallas Wings put her in the limelight. It reflected the LA Spark rookie’s high school days when she was one of Detroit Edison High School’s scoring machines. Growing up with basketball genes running in the family, the McDonald’s All-American was voted a five-star prospect in the ESPNW Top 100 as a high school senior.

With her leadership, Jackson carried Edison to three Michigan Class C State Championships during that time. She concluded her high school career as Detroit Edison’s all-time leading scorer with 1771 points through four seasons. Alongside that, Jackson also participated in summer basketball for Michigan Crossover, the 2017 USA Women’s U16 National Team Trials, was a finalist for the 2018 USA Basketball Women’s U17 World Cup Team, and played in the 2019 USA Basketball 3×3 U18 National Championship. Then came her time to go up a level and embark on her college basketball journey.

Rickea Jackson’s college basketball career

Starting off her collegiate career as a starter in 27 games out of 33 for Mississippi State University, Rickea Jackson scored in double digits in 23 games. As a freshman, she averaged 15.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. She made her presence felt with her elite shooting skills as she shot 48.3% from the field, 41.9% from beyond the arc, and 72.4% from the free throw line.

She was one of the top five SEC players in terms of scoring average and field goal percentage. Hence, she became the only freshman to rank in the top 10 in both categories. Making it her career-high, Jackson scored 34 points against Auburn, the second-most points scored by an MSU freshman ever, alongside 7 rebounds and 3 assists. She was named to the SEC All-Tournament Team and concluded her freshman season putting out 8 20+ point games, the most by any SEC freshman, and ranked second on the team with 4 double-doubles.

Then came her sophomore season, which saw a steady flow in her performance. She averaged 14.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2 assists while playing 31.6 minutes per game. Moreover, she hit 42% shots from the field and 29.5% from beyond the arc.

As the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jackson maintained her stronghold as a starter in 16 out of 19 games, putting out double-digit scores in 15 games. She led the team in scoring with 3 20+ point games.

Moving on, Jackson’s junior season saw some action, leading the SEC with 20.3 points, and 6.87 rebounds per game. She expanded her role on the court with 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals per game and started in all 15 games.

She shot 41% from the field and 73% from the free throw line. Jackson had eight 20+ point games and scored a career-high 40 points on 18-of-26 shooting against McNeese State. She scored 24 points against Jackson State, surpassing her 1000-point career total. Jackson completed her junior season at Mississippi State and entered the transfer portal at the end of January 2022. Jackson then chose to play for the Tennesse Lady Vols and continued on her collegiate journey.

Jackson’s two-year stint at Tennessee

Moving to Tennessee, Rickea Jackson got the opportunity to extend her role while making an impact in more than one statistical aspect of the game as a senior. Jackson had a thrilling season with the Lady Vols, averaging 19.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game in 28.3 minutes on the court.

Her scoring average ranks fifth all-time for a senior at Tennessee. She improved her shooting percentages to a career-high 54.8% from the field and 79.2% from the free throw line. Exemplifying her multi-faceted excellence, Jackson was ranked among the top 20 players in the SEC, including third in scoring, fourth in field goal percentage, fifth in free throw percentage, and 15th in rebounds. However, there was more to her game than just that.

Rickea Jackson surpassed the legendary Candace Parker’s seven-game streak of 20+ points from 2006 to 07 and Bridgette Gordon’s from 1987 to 88 with eight-straight games, but she still trailed the only Lady Vol and 4x All-American Chamique Holdsclaw, who tossed in nine consecutive games in 1997-98.

She set the program record for the highest free throw percentage after she hit a perfect 14-of-14 (100%) against Kentucky in the SEC Tournament, registering a season-high 34-point game. That season, Jackson scored multiple 20+ point games and led the program to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

However, her time at Tennessee wasn’t over yet as she still had a year under NCAA COVID exemption, which she went ahead and competed for. The bonus season brought another major feat for Jackson as she surpassed the 2000-point career mark when she scored 19 points against Missouri.

Garnering the 9th-best single-season average in the program’s history, Jackson put out an average of 20.2 points and 8.2 rebounds as a fifth-year student-athlete. She eventually became one of just six Lady Vols to average more than 20 points per game in a single season, including Patricia Roberts, Chamique Holdsclaw, Cindy Brogdon, Candace Parker, and Bridgette Gordon.

Similarly, she touched multiple career highs with 22 3-pointers, 58 assists, and 8.2 rebounding. Jackson embodied true strength when she put out 24 double-figure scores through 25 games. She finished her college basketball career amassing 2261 points, and 773 rebounds and started 106 games out of 127 games she played altogether at both Mississippi and Tennessee.