She wishes she wouldn't have pushed her body past the point of breakdown, resulting in 13 surgeries by her mid-20s. She wishes she would have eaten healthier during her basketball career at Missouri State. She wishes she would have gotten more sleep after those long game nights.

Just when you think the list will go on and on, Stiles adds this:

"I would trade a professional contract for another four years at Missouri State," she said. "It was the best experience of my life. Looking back, I wish I would have listened to people when they said I needed to rest. I always wanted to be different and go that extra step."

Going that extra step --.those four or five extra steps --.both made Stiles into the all-time leading scorer in women's NCAA basketball history and the broken-down athlete she became shortly after leaving Missouri State.

If she hadn't accomplished so much at such a young age, Stiles would fit the classic, sad story of "What might have been?"

In her own unassuming style that endeared her to Lady Bears fans, the 5-foot-8 Stiles wrecked the NCAA record books with a truckload of spinning jump shots, driving layups and 3-point shots.

She finished with 3,393 points in her career to set the NCAA Division I record, carrying her team to a Final Four appearance in 2001 with upset wins over Rutgers, Duke and Washington.

Folks around here remember the smiling, pony-tailed Stiles, the girl with enough competitive fire to light a small town in Kansas.

She's resigned to the fact that she'll never be the player that she once was. Injuries have robbed Stiles of her stop-on-a-dime quickness, leaving her to rely mostly on her outside shooting.

She's going to give professional basketball one more try, leaving for Australia next week from her home in Wichita, Kan., to play in a four-month league. The goal is to eventually make it back to the WNBA, where she once was the league's Rookie of the Year.

"If I didn't think I could get close to being the player I was, I wouldn't be doing this," Stiles said. "I know that I'm going to have to be a different player now. But I've missed playing basketball so much. I really haven't been the happiest person the last couple of years."

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Strange as it might sound coming from someone who used to make 1,000 baskets a day, Stiles has rarely taken any shots in recent years.

"I've hardly touched a basketball the last four years," she said. "I haven't been able to run and jump. I bike two or three hours for conditioning to lessen the impact on my body."

Cycling has helped to fill the competitive void left in Stiles' life with the absence of basketball. She joined Wichita's Oz Bicycle Club, enjoying success almost immediately.

Stiles finished second in a 49-mile road race in Kansas City, once again quenching that adrenaline rush she craved so much in basketball.

"She's competitive in everything that she does," said her sister, Roxanne Stiles, a freshman at Missouri State. "We're always telling her not to push herself too hard. We get concerned about her, but her will is so strong."

Even if this "last chance" attempt in basketball doesn't work, Stiles now has plans for the future. If her comeback attempt is unsuccessful after two years, she said she plans to return to Wichita to resume giving private basketball lessons.

She enjoys the freedom of setting her own schedule. Stiles works with kids from ages 7 to college-age.

"Seeing that growth and individual development of kids has been really rewarding for me," Stiles said. "You can tell that they really hang on every word. When you see them use a spin move or improve a jump shot, that's a lot of fun. And I love still having my own time to be active."

Finally, Stiles is getting back to basketball-playing shape. Because of her surgeries, she has been unable to lift weights for the most part.

Only recently has she been able to start adding that weight back on with the intention of getting back to her playing weight of 140 pounds.

She will report this week to the Canberra TransACT Capitals of Australia's WNBL, a league that she admittedly knows very little about.

"I've never been in the position of going into something under-prepared," Stiles said. "I'm not sure what to expect. It's a totally new situation for me."

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Today, Stiles will be inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame at the league's Centennial Gala in St. Louis.

Among the former teammates, family and friends in attendance will be former coach Cheryl Burnett, now one of Stiles' close friends.

Just last month, Stiles visited Burnett at the University of Michigan.

"I'm sure seeing everybody will bring back a lot of great memories," Stiles said. "Those four years at SMS were the greatest. It's really kind of shocking to be honored this way ... it will be a good way to send me off to Australia."

Spending her winter halfway across the world will also make it tougher to keep tabs on her little sister's progress with the Lady Bears.

Jackie checks in regularly with Roxanne, who she said she has empathy for.

In tiny Claflin, Kan. (population, 750), the spotlight shone brightly on Roxanne to live up to Jackie's expectations.

"I feel bad that she has that added pressure," Jackie said. "But she handles it really well --.better than I would. Honestly, she's more athletic than I am. I just hope that the fans and community aren't comparing me as a senior to her as a freshman. I wasn't very good as a freshman. I remember I blew a wide-open layup in my first game because I was so nervous. I had to develop a lot in four years to get to where I wanted to be."

And where she wants to go? Stiles would love another shot at the WNBA if she can get it.

She proved in her only injury-free season as a rookie that she could play at that level, averaging 14.9 points a game.

Stiles said she'll go about it different this time, resting when her body tells her it needs to.

"I don't think I ever took basketball for granted, but there's nowhere near as much pressure on me now," she said. "Now it's like, 'Wow, I'm able to shoot a layup.' It's exciting to play again."

With no regrets.