Tanisha Rickman became one of the top athletes to ever come through the UWF women’s basketball program. She played from 1997-1999, and brought outstanding talents and achievements onto the court. In high school, she led Ft. Walton Beach High to Florida 5A State Title as a senior in 1994, earning her the Most Valuable Player award for the state tournament. She averaged 30.5 points per game, earning her First Team All-State Honors. She became the leading scorer in Viking history with 2294 points, and was named Player of the Year by both the Northwest Florida Daily News and the Pensacola News Journal.
In 1994-1995, Rickman played basketball at Florida State University and competed as one
of the Top Freshman in the Atlantic Coast Conference. She was the third leading scorer with 9.8 points per game, averaging 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, and shooting a 26.5 percent from the 3-point range. In 1995-1996, she led Okaloosa-Walton Community College to the championship game of NJCAA National Tournament. Her team posted a 31-4 record in her one season. She averaged 20.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.9 steals per game, totaling 721 points. Rickman was named NJCAA All-American and Panhandle Conference Most Valuable Player.
At UWF in 1997-1998, she averaged 22.6 points per game, which is the second highest average in UWF history. She was named GSC East Division Most Valuable Player, and Most Valuable Player of NCAA Southern Region. Rickman shot 36 percent from the 3-point line and was second on the team in both rebounds (6.8 per game) and assists (65). She was named Most Valuable Player of the Ramada Limited/Cracker Barrel Tipoff Classic, Holiday Classic and GSC Tournament. She started in all thirty games for the Argos, averaging 33 points per game and having 6 double-doubles. She scored a season high of 37 against Arkansas Tech in the GSC tournament finals.
Her career highs include points (37), rebounds (18), assists (6), blocks (1), steals (6), field goals (15), 3-point field goals (7), free throws (13), field goal percent (72.7%) and free throw percent (100%). Tanisha Rickman contributed to the success of the 1997-1998 women’s basketball team with her individual and team efforts and outstanding talents as a competitive athlete.
