Jackiemania is running rampant, with the epicenter located at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo.

"I can't believe someone did a whole web page on me," is all Stiles can say, sheepishly.

Thirteen games into Stiles' collegiate career and she continues to amaze. Already, Kansas' career high school scoring leader has made a name for herself on the women's college basketball scene.

"It's amazing, all the attention she gets," said her father, Pat Stiles. "But like people say, she's still Jackie."

And today is Homecoming, or at least as close to Homecoming as Stiles can get. Her Southwest Missouri State team will meet Wichita State at 5:05 p.m. today in Levitt Arena. It's the closest Stiles will play to her hometown of Claflin, and central Kansas is buzzing.

"I hear it's pretty crazy in Claflin," Stiles said.

And it's crazy in Springfield, where fans go nuts at sold-out games over the 16th-ranked Bears, who are 12-1. Stiles is the leading scorer, averaging a Missouri Valley Conference-best 19.5 points.

Things are so wild in Springfield, a Bears player was told on Sunday that two women sitting in front of her in church were wearing black outfits because they were mourning the team's loss to Drake the previous afternoon.

No joke.

Through it all, Stiles has attempted to remain the same dedicated player who earned All-America honors as a senior. She still makes her 1,000 shots a day, though she has reduced the load to once a week during the season.

"Coach (Cheryl) Burnett said I would hit a wall in February if I kept going like I was," said Stiles, a 5-foot-8 guard. "She'll kick me out, but I still manage to sneak in. The security guards know me and let me stay pretty late."

Said Burnett: "It tickles us to death that we're trying to kick a kid out of the gym."

An empty gym is one of the few places where Stiles can relax and do what she loves. While appreciative, she is a little embarrassed and somewhat amazed by all the attention.

"She feels she's unworthy of it," Burnett said.

Stiles is especially amazed by the web page devoted to her.

Jeff Gross, an 18-year-old student at Kansas State's Salina campus, decided to design the page (http://homepage.netspaceonline.com/~sgross/stiles.htm) over his Christmas break at home in Galva. He has never met Stiles (they've exchanged e- mail) and has seen her play only twice, before today's game.

"But I've been following her since her junior year," Gross said. "It's a way for people back here to keep track of her and how she's doing in games."

She's doing just fine, thanks.

A sports columnist in Springfield proclaimed the city to be Stiles' in a column last month, and so far there's little evidence to argue against it. Stiles has led the Bears in scoring eight of 13 times, shooting 50.3 percent from the field and 80.2 percent from the free-throw line.

In other words, she's picking up where she left off in Claflin.

"We used to smile as a coaching staff when she got a lot of press and people doubted her," Burnett said. "We knew she was going to have an impact with us."

Pat Stiles expects a strong majority of Claflin residents will be at today's game.

Count all the fans from other towns who followed Stiles, then count the bus loads of SMSU fans making the trip.

Then count the WSU men's basketball season-ticket holders who come to watch the prelude to the men's game. And finally, count the folks just plain interested in the Stiles phenomenon, and WSU might set an attendance record.

Interesting that the current attendance record is 17 years old, when 4,534 fans turned out to see the Shockers battle Lynette Woodard -- Kansas' first girls prep basketball legend -- and Kansas.

So that's why this game is not just big for Stiles, but also for the WSU women's program.

WSU couldn't get in on the ground floor of Stiles' recruitment. Stiles was going to a major Division I program, and when she chose conference-rival SMSU, it was a punch to the gut of a Shocker program that had never had such a high-profile recruit.

And when you consider the average attendance for women's home games this season is 647 -- roughly the population of Claflin -- this is an opportunity for Wichita State women's basketball coach Linda Hargrove and her team to draw in some new fans.

"We have a chance, in a home game with a good crowd and media attention, of making a statement with our program," Hargrove said. "And you don't get those opportunities very often."

To help boost attendance and awareness, WSU has invited about 900 high school and middle school players to attend today's game at reduced ticket prices.

Whether they will root for Stiles, or WSU or both is to be determined.

Stiles needs no extra motivation. Most of her hometown will be there, as will her web page designer.

Only the New York Times will take a rain check.

"I'm going to be pretty nervous," Stiles admitted. "It means a lot to me to play in front of my friends and family and to do well in front of the people who have supported me for so long."