Karissa (Walter) Spicer arrived at OCU in the fall of 2005 after an outsanding high school career at Boone Grove High School, choosing OCU from numerous college offers to continue her basketball playing career. As a 5'5" point guard, she finished her playing career at Oakland City University as the first ever four-time NCCAA First-Team All-American in any sport. She finished with 1,793 career points, second only to Dalonda (Newton) Hayes (2,015), while also setting the single-season and career records for free throws made and attempted. As arguably the top rebounder for her height in school history, Spicer also led the Oaks in rebounds three of her four seasons, finishing in third place on the career list with 813. She also stands in third place on the career assists list with 341, while ranking second in career steals with 249. 

She played one season for OCU Hall of Famer Clint Weddle and three seasons for Jessica Mehringer, who said "during the time I played for and assisted at Oakland City, and in my six years as the women's basketball head coach, there isn't a player not yet in the OCU Hall of Fame who is more deserving than Karissa. She played with so much heart and courage that it was hard to keep her down. She was truly fun to watch."



In recognition of her outstanding career, the decision was made to retire her number 14 jersey in the Oakland City University women’s basketball program. As the only four-time NCCAA First-Team All-American in any sport at Oakland City University, she still holds many OCU records.
Her number was retired alongside the two numbers already hanging in the Johnson Center – Dalonda Newton’s number 20 and Kim Bilskie’s number 25.