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Hawks add Stiles, major college's all-time leading scorer
By Patrick Gonzales, A-J Sports Editor, LubbockOnline.com, October 26, 2004 After being slowed by a rash of injuries, former Southwest Missouri State standout Jackie Stiles is eyeing a comeback to women's basketball. Her journey will begin in Lubbock. Stiles, the leading scorer in women's major-college basketball history, said Monday she has signed to play for the Lubbock Hawks, one of the newest expansion teams of the National Women's Basketball League. "I'm very excited about playing in Lubbock and being in a place that loves women's basketball," Stiles said. "I remember playing there in the NCAA Tournament as a freshman. We played Notre Dame in the first round and stayed to watch Texas Tech, and the atmosphere was just incredible." Stiles, a 5-foot-8 guard, hasn't played competitive basketball in three years, as 11 surgeries during the same time frame have kept her off the court. "After never missing a game in college, I fell apart all at once," she said. Stiles is now surgery free and has been so for about six weeks. The only obstacle standing in her way of being healthy is rehabilitation. She had ankle surgery three months ago to repair torn ligaments, and she had surgery to repair her right rotator cuff six weeks ago. Stiles said the injured rotator cuff is a product of shooting the basketball several times for several years. She also said the rehab was expected to last five months, which should put her in the Hawks lineup by February. The season begins in January. "I used to make 1,000 shots a day from my sophomore year in high school to my freshman year in college," Stiles said. "My coach in college told me that if I kept that up, I would never make it through a season. So I started worrying more about quality than quantity, but by then I already had a lot of wear and tear in my arm." The injury can be labeled bittersweet, because a lot of the wear and tear Stiles suffered were the byproducts of becoming one of the brightest stars on the women's basketball scene. She burst onto the scene at Southwest Missouri State, where as a senior she became the first women's college player to score more than 1,000 points in a season (1,062) and led SMS to the Final Four. She averaged 46.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists that season. She finished her college career with 3,393 points. Stiles was a first-round draft pick (fourth overall) of the WNBA's Portland Fire in 2001 and was named rookie of the year following her debut season, when she averaged 14.9 points per game. Her injuries began to mount the following season, as she played in just 21 games and started three. She was picked up by the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2002 expansion draft after the Fire folded and hasn't played in a WNBA game since. She said the Sparks still own her rights. "It's almost as if I've been lost without basketball, because it was always a big part of my life," Stiles said. "But I'm excited, because I've had the final two surgeries that I need. I want to make one final push for a comeback and play in the WNBA, and I think playing in (the NWBL) is the perfect start. "I can't expect myself to be the same player I was right away, but at the same time, I've also worked hard to get to this point. A lot of people tell me it's like riding a bike. I sure hope so." patrick.gonzales@lubbockonline.com 766-8735 TO THE TOP |