SPRINGFIELD. Mo.

They wait in their cars two hours before the doors open at the Hammons Student Center. Their engines run so they can stay warm. They reach into paper sacks and pull out bologna-and-cheese sandwiches to curb their hunger.

They wait.

The people wait. And they don't complain because they know what they're waiting to see is something special.

This city, tucked neatly into the scenic Ozarks, loves three things more than anything else.

Biting fish. Andy Williams. And Jackie Stiles.

Especially Stiles.

Try telling these people Stiles isn't the best college women's basketball player in the country. Then turn and run, because they'll chase you into the foothills.

The Southwest Missouri State women's team, of which Stiles is the All-America leader, is one of the nation's best. Ranked 20th, the Lady Bears have sold out most of their home games this season.

SMSU has always been popular. The team went to the Final Four in 1992, and that trip sent Springfield into a tizzy.

But there has never been anything to compare to Stiles, who could have gone to any college after her amazing high school career at Claflin but chose Southwest Missouri State.

People in Springfield love her small-town ways. They admire her work ethic. And they, quite simply, can't get enough of her ability, which is partially God-given and partially woman-made.

Stiles is the nation's leading scorer this season, averaging a hair more than 30 points. She needs 44 points to become the top scorer in NCAA Division I history.

Stiles, a senior, could set the record today, when SMSU plays Wichita State at Levitt Arena. More likely, though, she'll surpass the mark during a Thursday game against Creighton in Springfield.

Which is probably how it should be.

"Springfield will always be in my heart,'' Stiles said. "I hate to even talk about the season ending, because it's so sad. I was so excited for it to begin, but I knew once it did it was just going to fly by. It's a very sad time, because I really love these people.''

And they love her.

The young admirer

Jenny Miller is a senior point guard for Springfield's Glendale High, one of the best girls teams in Missouri.

She has never met Stiles. Are you kidding?

That would be, like, so nerve-wracking.

Stiles is revered by everyone in Springfield, but no group looks up to her more than female high school players.

To them, she's a deity.

"She's so impressive,'' Miller said. "We hear all the stories about her -- how she makes 1,000 shots a day. That's so many shots. I think I work pretty hard, but 1,000 shots?''

Miller will play basketball next season at Missouri Baptist, a small, private school.

Even if she's not always aware, Miller is sure the success of Stiles at Southwest Missouri State has driven her to be the best she can be.

"As good as she is, I hear how she still thinks she isn't good enough,'' Miller said. "She's so humble. In the papers she never talks about herself at all. It's always about how her teammates got her the ball and her coaches put her in the right position.''

The rabid fan

Ed Bowen is legally blind. He has completely lost sight in his left eye. With special binoculars, he can see some out of his right.

He's thankful.

Because at every SMSU women's game, he's sitting in the first row along the west baseline, binoculars to his eyes. Watching Stiles' every move.

"To me, she's a superstar,'' said Bowen, 58. "Not only a great shooter, but a great team player.''

Bowen doesn't miss a game. He cannot read a newspaper. He doesn't watch much television.

Stiles is his biggest form of entertainment.

"I'm a true, die-hard Jackie fan,'' he said. "But I'm not the only one. I'm quite certain that if you polled everybody in that arena during a game you wouldn't find one that isn't a Jackie fan.''

Bowen feels comfortable speaking for the masses.

He is drawn to Stiles' amazing ability to shoot the basketball. He loves to watch her drive into the lane and convert on a three-point play. He is impressed with how hard Stiles works on defense.

"There won't ever be anyone else like Jackie,'' Bowen said. "It's a blessing my eyesight has held on long enough for me to get to see her play.''

The amazed coach

Barry Hinson is Southwest Missouri State's men's basketball coach.

If he had a team full of Jackie Stileses, his Bears wouldn't be floundering below the .500 mark. He knows that.

"Everybody talks about her scoring and how she leads the nation,'' Hinson said. "The biggest thing for me is that she never, ever has any negative body language.

"Bad call? Nothing. Makes a great play? Nothing. Things going on, excitement, electricity? Nothing. She is on such an even keel. You don't find that in very many people. That's why they call them the great ones.''

Hinson knows he'll be chastised by the locals for saying that Stiles is only the "second-best" women's college player he has seen.

No. 1 is former Louisiana Tech star Teresa Weatherspoon, currently one of the best point guards in the WNBA with the New York Liberty.

"I didn't know Weatherspoon, but I know Jackie and I love her attitude,'' Hinson said. "And what she is, there's never a deviation. She's nice off the court, and she's nice on the court. She's always about 'team' first and 'me' second.''

After the women finish practice and the men take the court for their workout, it's nothing to see Stiles up in the seats, looking on.

"Just hanging out,'' Hinson said. "In this community, 'Jackie' does not refer to Camelot.

"Jackie Stiles has done everything here in the Ozarks but walk on water. And I don't think that's been asked of her yet.''

The happy instructor

If you think Stiles is dedicated and committed to basketball, you should see her in the classroom.

She's on a mission.

It will probably take her five years to graduate, but she is dead set on getting her degree.

She carries a 3.4 grade-point average in physical education, wants to coach and is carrying a 17-hour load this semester as she chases down the NCAA scoring record, leads her team into what she hopes will be a long run in the NCAA Tournament, agrees to dozens of media requests and, in her spare time, takes on all the duties that go with being engaged.

"When there's a test coming up, Jackie's the type who always worries,'' said Chuck Williams, one of her physical education instructors who also was an assistant on the Lady Bears' staff during Stiles' first three seasons. "She wonders, 'Am I gonna be able to do this? I don't know about this test.' Then she comes in and aces everything. Never misses a class, very conscientious.''

Williams has a different view of Stiles' basketball abilities as a spectator instead of a coach. He still loves what he sees.

"I'll tell you this -- the people here, one of these days, are going to realize how good Jackie was when they look out there and she's gone,'' Williams said. "This whole city has fallen for her because Jackie is the kind who bends over backwards to please everybody, sometimes to the point where it works as a hardship for her.''

As for her future as a coach, Williams has only one concern. Will Stiles expect the same hard work and dedication from her players as she has expected from herself? If so, Williams said, she could be disappointed.

"That could be frustrating for her,'' he said. "But she'll find a way to make it work.''

The loving teammate

Carly Deer, a senior forward for the Lady Bears, has been Stiles' best friend and roommate since both arrived on campus as freshmen.

She keeps Stiles loose with her wicked sense of humor.

About the only time Stiles shows emotion on the court is when Deer makes a good play or hits a three-pointer.

Then Stiles might pump her fist.

Deer knows she is no Jackie Stiles when it comes to her basketball ability. She has never pretended to be.

"I will never know anyone who works harder than Jackie,'' Deer said. "Or has more passion for basketball. Basketball is her life.''

Deer has seen the tunnel-vision, intense Stiles who thinks only about basketball.

She has seen the stressed, nervous Stiles who worries about academics.

But she has also seen her fun side.

"She's so fun to joke with,'' Deer said. "Our team is really loose. But we also know the pressure that she's under and the expectations people have. We don't have newspapers at home or anything that show she has this many points. About the only thing she watches on TV is 'SportsCenter.'''

There are times when Deer simply stares at Stiles and wonders how a person got to be that way.

"I have no idea where it comes from,'' Deer said. "I don't know how people develop the kind of work ethic she has. But all of her talent didn't just come out of the blue. She has worked hard for everything she's gotten.''

All that dedication

When people talk about the greatest female college players ever, Stiles has to be on their short lists.

She has done so much. She has seen all of her hard work -- from the time she was old enough to dribble a ball -- pay off.

All of those nights spent in the gym while her friends were off doing something more fun.

All of those shots she took when her elbow hurt so bad she could hardly bend it.

All of those times she practiced handling the ball. Passing the ball. Doing things with the ball few others can do.

"I don't know what it is about the game of basketball, but I definitely love it,'' Stiles said. "People thought, with all the time I have spent on basketball, that I would get burned out. But it's not work, it's something I love to do.''

Stiles would love to win a game in Wichita before her career ends. So far, she and the Lady Bears are 0-3 against the Shockers at Levitt.

"There are always so many people who I know that come to Wichita when we play there,'' Stiles said. "Then we lose and we're trying to hurry up and get out of there so I don't even have time to talk to my friends or my family.

"I'd love to win there, then be able to stay around and sign autographs and do whatever it takes for the kids and all the people who have supported me.''

It is testament to Stiles' ability and drawing power that there will be more than 10,000 fans in the seats today. That's eight times the average attendance for a Shocker women's home game.

A good chunk of the fans will probably root for Wichita State to make it four in a row at home over SMSU.

But nobody will root against Stiles. By the end of the game, there's a good chance everybody will love her.

Like they do in Springfield.