She had scored 20 points in a game, a good showing for a freshman, but hardly worth developing an entourage over.

Of course, the frenzy was never over Roxanne. Never.

Curiosity would get the best of people, especially in a small town like Claflin, Kan., where it's hard enough to grow up in the shadow of your big sister. And this was Jackie Stiles' little sister.

People asked all kind of questions:

Was she as good? Did she have the same mannerisms? Did she look like Jackie?

Just the other night, during an autograph session after "Meet the Bears Night," junior teammate Tahnee Balerio caught a glimpse into what it's like to be Roxanne Stiles, if only for a few minutes.

"I think we all feel for her, knowing what she goes through," Balerio said. "She's Roxanne Stiles and not Jackie Stiles. I think the fans will start to realize that she'll make her own mark here by just being herself."

By now, you'd think Roxanne would be tired of the attention. Maybe even a little bitter.

After all, nobody could possibly live up to the record-breaking 3,393 points Jackie scored at Missouri State from 1997-2001.

So, why come here? There were other options where the spotlight wouldn't have shined nearly as brightly, where her sister's No. 10 jersey wasn't hanging above her from the rafters.

Instead, Roxanne asked "Why not?" She confidently answers questions about the sister she idolized growing up.

The badgering might get old, but she insists she knows it goes with the territory. And even though Lady Bears fans are just now realizing the physical similarities between the sisters and the many on-the-floor qualities they share — that big jump stop sure looks familiar --.Roxanne has been dealing with the stares and comments since elementary school.

"I really am used to it," Stiles said with a shrug of the shoulders and smile that makes you believe her. "All my life it's been this way and there's nothing bad about it. I haven't heard anything negative or bad about being compared to my sister. It doesn't bother me because I know that I am a different player than her."

- - -

Toby Holmes, Roxanne's high school coach at Claflin, smiled when he read a newspaper article Stiles' junior year that referred to Jackie as Roxanne's older sister and not the other way around.

Pat Stiles said developing his daughter's own identity was important from a young age.

"When (Roxanne) was really young we'd take her to basketball camp and she was pretty shy," Pat Stiles said. "But as she got older she really matured. She's really proud of all of Jackie's accomplishments and developed into a really good team player herself."

In a conscious effort to defuse the hype surrounding Roxanne, Holmes didn't start her until the seventh game of her freshman season.

"I wanted to give her time to transition and become the player that she is," Holmes said. "We didn't want to press the issue even though she probably should have been starting right away."

Stiles was off and running soon enough. She started every game the rest of her career.

Still, even when she played well, scoring 15 or 20 points a game, Holmes would hear, "Why don't you let her go off and score 40 points?"

At 5-foot-8 and the Class 1A Kansas state champion in the 200- and 400-meter dash, Stiles' strength was running the floor and playing defense, not pouring in baskets.

"She's always been really quick and athletic," said high school teammate Kayla Klug, now a freshman at Fort Hays State. "As she got older, she really became sound with ball handling and finishing in contact. She's really tough with the ball."

Stiles averaged 16 points and five rebounds as a junior at Claflin, but recruiters weren't exactly knocking down the door. She whittled her college choices to Missouri State, North Texas and Division II Drury, choosing the Lady Bears because of her familiarity with the program.

"The atmosphere of those games, in front of a standing room-only packed house, that was the best time of my life," Roxanne said of watching her sister's games. "Those were great moments."

Before she left Claflin, Roxanne was able to claim a state championship that had eluded her sister, winning titles her junior and senior seasons.

Holmes said those championship seasons helped to establish Roxanne as "her own player."

"Even if she didn't score 20 points a game there were ways that she would help us win," Holmes said. "She really distributes the ball well. I don't think she ever had a bad game. She might tell you she had 15 or 20 bad games, but she never did."

- - -

The Stiles sisters talk on the phone weekly.

Though most of their conversations center on Roxanne's progression on the court, Jackie also reinforces the need for Roxanne to pace herself.

Jackie Stiles' pro career was cut short because of a slew of injuries and 13 surgeries, mostly due to the toll put on her body from countless hours spent in the gym.

Roxanne also has her own injury history to deal with. Eight years ago, she had surgery to correct hip dysplasia, which still bothers her occasionally.

"She can learn from my mistakes," Jackie said last week, prior to her induction into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame. "I've been giving her as much advice as I can and was able to work out with her some. There was such an age gap growing up (nine years) that we weren't able to do that too much."

Jackie said she "feels bad" about the unfair pressure Roxanne has had to deal with over the years.

"She handles it well --.better than I would have," Jackie said. "She has a great mentality to where she will create her own success. She's more athletic than I was as a freshman, but people remember me as a senior. It took me a long time to get to that point."

Though she's cautious not to over-do it, Roxanne is blessed with the same hard-nosed work ethic as her sister. She has been one of the bright spots for the Lady Bears in the first three weeks of practice, earning a spot in the regular rotation at point guard and shooting guard.

Stiles will serve as the backup to Balerio at point guard and compete for time at shooting guard with freshmen Tag Morris and Taylor Silas.

"The great thing about Roxy is that she'll do whatever we ask of her," Missouri State coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson said. "She's a team player and a winner."

- - -

Though her coach tries to downplay Roxanne's on-court similarities to Jackie --."It makes no sense to me for people to compare the two," Abrahamson-Henderson said --.fans are bound to analyze their similarities and differences.

And that's OK with Roxanne.

Really, it is.

"We both have that aggressive knack, but I'm not her," Roxanne says bluntly. "It's amazing the impact that she made on the women's game in the Missouri Valley Conference. I'm proud of her."

Stiles' first game in a Missouri State uniform wasn't one she'll likely want to remember. She played 15 minutes in a 75-55 exhibition victory against Arkansas Tech, going 0-for-5 from the floor and 0-for-2 from the free-throw line.

Balerio believes nights like that will be the exception.

"She was a little nervous and that's to be expected," Balerio said. "For the first game, I thought she played all right. We're not expecting her to score 25 points. She didn't have many turnovers and that's what a point guard does."

For Roxanne, the hubbub surrounding her really isn't all that big of a deal. She is enjoying her role as one of eight newcomers trying to earn a spot.

She loves her sister. She loves to play basketball. She loves her school.

What is there not to like?

"I can't wait for the season to start," she said. "I'll do the best that I can.

"They can expect that from me."

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