Former TSU students remember Houston-area graduate murdered in Dallas

HOUSTON - Former students of Texas Southern University gathered on campus Saturday night to remember a graduate who was murdered in Dallas.

Jennifer Hickmon was killed at 37-years-old. After touching many lives in Houston, her life was celebrated by those who knew her.

“That's what we called her, “Get-it-in-Jen.” Hickmon was recruited to play at Texas Southern by former girls’ head basketball coach Dr. Lacey Reynolds.

“She was a person that touched lives. She was a young lady that did some great things in the education arena, and she was like the glue to the basketball team,” says Reynolds.

Hickmon was celebrated as a straight shooter, on and off the court. The star point guard and team captain is most of all remembered by former teammates from 2001 to 2005, her sisters of TSU’s Lady Tigers basketball team. 

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“They called her “Jump Shot Jenny,” says Monica Okolo, adding to a long list of endearing nicknames for the former player. “Her jump shot was unlike anything anybody had ever seen. Jenny being just this energetic, vibrant soul - everybody loved her being around them, and she held everybody accountable.”

After graduating, Hickmon returned to her hometown of Dallas to coach basketball but always kept in touch.

At the start of July, her alleged boyfriend Jeffery Scott, who is believed to have lived in the Houston area, posted online that he was also moving to Dallas.

Then, on July 12, police were called for a welfare check on Jenny, finding her brutally killed in her home.
“Anybody that knew Jen’s heart couldn't have done this to her,” says Okolo. “She just didn't deserve for that to happen.”

According to Dallas police, Scott confessed to the murder after being interviewed. 

Hickmon leaves behind an 11-year-old daughter, along with a hole in the hearts of her Houston family.

“I can still hear her laughing. I can still see her smile. I can still feel her energy,” adds Okolo.

The team started a memorial scholarship fund and say Hickmon’s daughter has an extended family circle of at least 20 Houston aunts, to share with her how her mom played the game that for them will never be the same. 

Click here for more on the Jennifer Hickmon Memorial Scholarship Fund: