BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Rickea Jackson recorded one of the best games by a freshman in Mississippi State history this week, and the career performance earned her SEC Freshman of the Week honors Tuesday, as announced by the league office.

The freshman forward, who has now been tabbed with the weekly honor three times this year, dropped a career-high 34 points on 14-of-22 shooting to rally No. 9 Mississippi State from down 14 in the third quarter to an overtime victory against Auburn on Thursday. Jackson's 34 points were tied for the second-most ever by an MSU freshman, matching four-time All-American LaToya Thomas' performance against Louisiana (12/2/99) and marking the most since three-time All-American Victoria Vivians had 39 at Kentucky (2/12/15). It also stands as the most points scored by an SEC freshman this season, as she’s the only player to eclipse the 30-point mark.

Of Jackson’s 15 points during the final 15 minutes of the contest, every point scored was during a one-possession game with the Tigers while nine of the points came during overtime. She also added seven rebounds and three assists in the game.

The Detroit, Mich., native followed that performance up by recording 15 points, four rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal against Alabama. For the week, she averaged 24.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 60 percent from the field.

During SEC play, Jackson leads all freshmen in scoring (17.7 ppg) while ranking second in field goal percentage (.486) and fifth in rebounding (5.6 rpg). She ranks fourth, seventh and 15th, respectively, among all SEC players in those categories. Six of her 12 double-digit scoring efforts during conference play have eclipsed the 20-point margin, marking the most by any freshman in the league.

For the season, Jackson leads the 10th-ranked Bulldogs in scoring at 15.0 points per game. She is one of the most efficient scorers in the country, connecting on 48 percent of her shots on the year. She’s the only freshman in the SEC who ranks inside the top 10 in both scoring (7th) and field goal percentage (7th) for the season.

This is the 15th time a freshman has been recognized for the weekly honor by the SEC under head coach Vic Schaefer. Aliyah Matharu was also named SEC Freshman of the Week earlier in the season.

Up next, State travels to take on No. 23 Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on SEC Network and can be streamed on the MSU Radio Network.