Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson picked up another all-league honor in back-to-back days, netting her second-straight appearance on the USA TODAY Sports Network All-SEC First Team.
Jackson, a 6-foot-2 forward for the Lady Vol basketball team, pocketed today’s acclaim after being named yesterday to the Coaches All-SEC First Team and today being announced as a top-five finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award for Small Forwards.
The Detroit native leads Tennessee and ranks second in the SEC this season in scoring at 19.7 points per game (19.9 in SEC play) and contributes a team-high 7.9 rebounds per contest while adding 2.2 assists per outing. She is shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 76.1 percent from the free throw line after overcoming an early-season injury that sidelined her for eight games. Jackson also is tied for the team lead in charges taken with five.
In match-ups against ranked teams, the SEC’s active career scoring leader has elevated her play even more, putting up 23.8 ppg. and 10.3 rpg. in those contests. Over UT’s last five outings, which have included a pair of meetings with No. 1 South Carolina and one with No. 9 LSU, the Big Orange star has averaged 23.0 ppg. and 7.4 rpg. while shooting 50 percent from the field and 75 percent from the charity stripe.
Jackson has recorded three double-doubles this season and nine games with 20 or more points scored. The latter number has increased her two-year total on Rocky Top to 25, which ranks as the fifth-best ever by a Lady Vol behind only program legends Chamique Holdsclaw, Bridgette Gordon, Candace Parker and Tamika Catchings.
Also reflective of her scoring prowess, Jackson has tallied 1,065 points in only 55 games at Tennessee, ranking No. 46 on a list that primarily features players who spent three or four seasons in Knoxville. For career point production, she has generated 2,150 in 122 career contests, ranking sixth among anyone who has played at UT, including transfers. In recent games, she passed Tamika Catchings (2,113) and Candace Parker (2,137) and ranks behind only Cindy Brogdon (3,204), Chamique Holdsclaw (3,025), Jill Rankin (2,851), Bridgette Gordon (2,462) and Patricia Roberts (2,447).
