20. Big crowd watches big win over Hogs

(Southwest) Missouri State 56 Arkansas 49 — Dec. 22, 1986

Winston Garland, (Southwest) Missouri State's dynamic senior guard, did it all in the Bears' 56-49 victory over coach Nolan Richardson's Arkansas Razorbacks. It was the school's first victory over Arkansas in basketball since 1933.

Garland had 17 points, 8 assists and 4 steals as a crowd of 9,120 watched.

"It was just a big, big ballgame," Garland said in the Daily News the next day. "We were all pumped up. That's all. Everybody on this team puts forth a tremendous effort."

The early season victory gave the Bears an 8-3 record. The team went on to become the school's first NCAA Tournament entry, defeating Clemson the following March in Atlanta.

-- Lyndal Scranton

19. Dull excites crowd with record night

(Southwest) Missouri State 95 Southeast Missouri State 77 — Jan. 22, 1977

Jimmie Dull has a simple explanation for his 44-point outburst -- still the most by a Missouri State player in Hammons Student Center -- on that January night in 1977.

"I guess I was being fed the ball quite a bit," Dull said, recalling his big night in a 95-77 victory over Southeast Missouri State.

Then a junior forward, Dull made 16 of 31 shots from the field and 12 of 16 free throws. He also had 15 rebounds in one of the highlights of an 11-14 season.

Coach Bill Thomas said it was a typical performance in the fact that many of Dull's shots were "bombs, from way out. Deep in the corners and from the sides."

In other words, 3-point range a decade before the 3-point shot was instituted into college basketball.

-- Lyndal Scranton

18. Win over MU lifts Lady Bears

(Southwest) Missouri State 71 Missouri 67 — Dec. 5, 1989

Cheryl Burnett isn't afraid of overstating Missouri State's 71-67 victory over Missouri on Dec. 5, 1989.

The former Lady Bears coach said everything that followed -- the burgeoning fan base and Final Four trip in 1992 -- was set up by ending a 13-game losing streak to Missouri on that December night.

"That was the breakthrough win," Burnett said.

In front of 1,102 fans, the Lady Bears rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit, going ahead for good at 62-61 on two free throws by LaWaynta Dawson with 2:14 remaining.

"They came in here so cool, so poised, like we are here and it's the same ol', same ol," Dawson told the News-Leader after scoring a team-high 15 points. "We just had to prove to them we are not the same --and we did it."

-- Kyle Neddenriep

17. Bears shine in first ESPN home game

(Southwest) Missouri State 73 Illinois-Chicago 67 — March 8, 1989

With guard Doug Lewis dribbling out the final seconds near mid-court, Chris Stange remembers the elation.

(Southwest) Missouri State was about to beat Illinois-Chicago to clinch the school's third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth.

Best of all, it was on the Bears' home floor.

"It was fun to be able to celebrate that with our fans," said Stange, a junior forward.

Hubert Henderson scored 27 points and Kelby Stuckey 18 as 7,611 fans -- and a national audience on ESPN -- watched.

The victory sent coach Charlie Spoonhour's Bears to the NCAA Tournament in Tucson, Ariz.

-- Lyndal Scranton

16. Stiles moves past idol Howard

(Southwest) Missouri State 84 Bradley 48 — Jan. 29, 2000

When Jackie Stiles was a high school star in Claflin, Kan., she would wear an autographed Melody Howard jersey under her uniform.

"She was a big reason why I came (to Missouri State)," Stiles said recently.

With Howard among the standing-room-only crowd of 9,131 on Jan. 29, 2000, Stiles broke the record in her typically humble-yet-extraordinary fashion, as she scored 22 points in the first half of an 84-48 victory over Bradley. The 5-foot-8 junior guard passed Howard's record of 1,944 -- set from 1990-94 -- on a 3-pointer from the left wing with 2:30 left in the half.

Though Stiles admitted she didn't remember the details of the game, she did say the friendship formed with Howard, the player she had idolized from afar growing up, was one that she cherished.

"I wanted to be just like her," Stiles said. "I was in awe of her. So to get to know her as a person was a big thrill for me."

--Kyle Neddenriep

15. Win over K-State is springboard

(Southwest) Missouri State 58 Kansas State 55 — Jan. 3, 1989

Scuffling along with a 6-5 record as the first game of 1989 arrived during the 1988-89 season, things did not appear promising for then-Southwest Missouri State.

Not against Kansas State, a team picked to contend for a Big Eight Conference title behind star guard Steve Henson.

With a sellout crowd of 8,779 cheering them on, the Bears defeated the Wildcats 58-55. Hubert Henderson and Kelby Stuckey scored 19 apiece to lead the way.

Henson had only eight points on 2-for-7 shooting.

The Bears went 16-4 the rest of the regular season, won the Mid-Continent Conference and made a third consecutive NCAA trip.

-- Lyndal Scranton

14. Curtain goes up for Lady Bears

(Southwest) Missouri State 74 Bradley 34 — Jan. 13, 1990

It's remembered as the "Blue Curtain Game," although the record-breaking crowd of 5,003 at Hammons Student Center on Jan. 13, 1990, probably had as much interest in what was happening at the concession stand as on the basketball court.

To accommodate a big Saturday afternoon crowd on "Elementary School Day," the blue curtains on the north and south ends of the court were raised and the bleachers used for the first time at a Missouri State women's basketball game.

"I remember getting a few tears in my eyes," said Dr. Mary Jo Wynn, MSU's former women's athletic director.

The Lady Bears defeated Bradley 74-34, pushing their record to 9-4 overall and 4-1 in the Gateway Conference.

-- Kyle Neddenriep

13. Davis, Lady Bears wrap up NCAA bid

(Southwest) Missouri State 54 Southern Illinois 53 — March 13, 1993

Listening to former Southern Illinois women's basketball coach Cindy Scott describe the final seconds of the 1993 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship, it's obvious the healing process isn't complete.

"It was a heartbreaking loss," Scott said.

LaTanya Davis' 4-foot bank shot with 7 seconds remaining gave the Lady Bears a 54-53 victory in front of 8,662 fans and propelled them into the NCAA Tournament.

Tonya Baucom, who scored 14 of her 16 points in the second half to lead the Lady Bears, was triple-teamed and passed the ball to the wide-open freshman Davis for the game-winning basket.

"I didn't think I would be the one to shoot it," Davis told the News-Leader at the time. "I was just so happy because I wasn't shooting well. I said, 'Thank you, Jesus' when it went in. It was a miracle."

--Kyle Neddenriep

12. City teams play to sellout crowd

(Southwest) Missouri State 76 Drury 74 — Dec. 11, 1976

It was a game for the fans.

That's the way Edsel Matthews, Drury University's basketball coach at the time, recalls the matchup between his team and (Southwest) Missouri State on Dec. 11, 1976.

The fact it was the first sellout in Hammons Student Center, with 8,909 fans watching the Bears defeat Drury 76-74, was a testament to that.

"Afterward, the talk was that the winners were the fans, not the players or the coaches," Matthews said.

In the first meeting between the intra-city schools since 1923, Jimmie Dull and Harry Policape scored 15 points apiece to lead the Bears. A young Drury team would win the NAIA national championship two years later.

--Lyndal Scranton

11. Spoon says so long to 'Temple of Doom'

(Southwest) Missouri State 66 Southern Illinois 58 — Feb. 29, 1992

It was not the most artistic victory in Charlie Spoonhour's Missouri State coaching career.

Which perhaps is why Spoonhour, asked about the Bears' 66-58 victory over Southern Illinois on Feb. 29, 1992, remembered few specifics.

"I just know that any time that you beat Southern Illinois it was pretty special," Spoonhour said.

It also was Spoonhour's last home game as Bears coach. He moved on to Saint Louis University the next season.

"When we were playing that game, we had no idea it was his last game in Hammons," said Tim Axley, a junior on that team. "And I don't think he did, either."

-- Lyndal Scranton

10. Bears cage the 'Big Dog'

Purdue 48 (Southwest) Missouri State 45 — Dec. 22, 1992

Tim Axley was not the most physically gifted (Southwest) Missouri State basketball player to suit up in Hammons Student Center.

But one thing about the thin 6-foot-4 forward. He was never afraid to mix it up on the court, something that made him a fan favorite. Never did Axley rise to the occasion more than on Dec. 22, 1992, when he spent much of the game guarding All-America and future NBA player Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson.

"Every time I'm back in Springfield, people still bring that game up," said Axley, a business owner in Frisco, Texas. "That was a memorable game. Our team didn't back down."

Purdue, ranked 15th at the time, escaped with a 48-45 victory before 9,145 fans. Robinson scored a career-low two points on 1-for-9 shooting.

It took 20 points from Cuonzo Martin -- now the Bears' head coach -- and seven free throws in the final 1 minute, 48 seconds to help the Boilermakers prevail.

-- Lyndal Scranton

9. KU no match for Lady Bears

(Southwest) Missouri State 75 Kansas 59 — March 18, 1992

Over and over again, Kansas would try to throw the ball over the Lady Bears' full-court press.

It rarely worked.

On March 18, 1992, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Hammons Student Center, (Southwest) Missouri State wore out the Jayhawks 75-59 in front of a frenzied Midwest Regional-record crowd of 7,652.

Kansas, 25-6 and ranked No. 17 in the AP poll, committed 29 turnovers.

"I think of all the games I've been to, that was the loudest sound I've ever heard in there," then-coach Cheryl Burnett said. "I would always get that 'coach's voice' the day after a game, but by the end of that one I had laryngitis. I didn't even have a voice."

Melody Howard scored 19 points and Karen Rapier 18 as Burnett defeated her alma mater.

-- Kyle Neddenriep

8. Building opens with a thriller

Arkansas 72 (Southwest) Missouri State 71 — Dec. 1, 1976

The first game at Hammons Student Center also featured the first controversy. Not to mention the first near-upset.

Arkansas held on to defeat (Southwest) Missouri State 72-71 -- but not before the Razorbacks had to return from their locker room to replay the game's final six seconds.

Here's what happened:

The Bears' Scott Hawk fouled out going for an offensive rebound at the 6-second mark and Arkansas leading 70-69. Before Bears coach Bill Thomas' minute expired to put in a new player, Arkansas' Jim Counce was given the ball and shot his free throw.

The one-and-one missed, the Bears rebounded and Milt McDonald missed a desperation shot. Razorbacks win. Or so it seemed.

Thomas ran to official Ray Sonnenberg to explain the situation. Sonnenberg, after checking with official scorer Tom Allen, agreed with Thomas and went to get Eddie Sutton and the Razorbacks back onto the court.

Back to the line went Counce. This time he made both free throws and Arkansas allowed the Bears an uncontested layup at the buzzer for the final margin.

The Bears had just missed pulling a shocker in Hammons' inaugural game against a team that featured future NBA players Sidney Moncrief and Ron Brewer and that went on to finish 26-2 overall and 16-0 in the Southwest Conference.

"We went into that game and didn't play tight," said Jimmie Dull, a forward for MSU. "We played well and nearly upset them."

-- Lyndal Scranton

7. 'Home run' play beats WSU

(Southwest) Missouri State 73 Wichita State 70 — Feb. 6, 1999

Sophomore guard Melody Campbell (now Stewart) hadn't even left the bench as Wichita State and Missouri State battled back-and-forth on a Saturday afternoon in front of a standing room-only crowd of 9,115 fans.

But when WSU's Courtney Sims hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 70 with 2.3 seconds left, it was Stewart's time. A center fielder at her high school in Claremore, Okla., Stewart had "won" the position of trigger-person in the "home run" play designed by coach Cheryl Burnett.

Her job was to throw the ball three-quarters court to Carly Deer (Stubblefield), who would race from the baseline to the top of the key to catch it. Deer would then turn and pass to Jackie Stiles on the wing, who would be coming off a screen from Tara Mitchem (Groves).

"We had just practiced it the week before," Stubblefield said. "We had tried out for all of those positions to see who would be the best at each position. The shooter was always Jackie."

Beginning with Stewart's pass, the play worked to perfection.

-- Kyle Neddenriep

6. Garland takes place in spotlight

(Southwest) Missouri State 90 Cleveland State 87 — March 7, 1987

It was the team Missouri State fans loved to hate, with the animated coach who became more energetic as boos increased: Cleveland State and coach Kevin Mackey.

And never was more at stake than on the March night in 1987 when the teams met for the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament berth, with 9,022 fans packed into Hammons Student Center.

The Bears won a racehorse game 90-87, with Winston Garland pouring in 30 points to go with seven assists. Basil Robinson added 18 points and eight assists.

"Winston showed everybody that night he was in another class," Bears center Kelby Stuckey said.

-- Lyndal Scranton

5. Stiles breaks NCAA record

(Southwest) Missouri State 94 Creighton 59 — March 1, 2001

Jackie Stiles could no longer escape it. No matter where she went -- the grocery store, walking across campus or a restaurant -- she was asked about the record.

The record, the record, the record. When will Stiles break the record?

Finally, in the month leading up to the (Southwest) Missouri State basketball legend establishing a women's NCAA scoring record, Stiles made a deal with her roommate, Carly (Deer) Stubblefield.

There would be no newspapers and no local news broadcasts allowed in their apartment.

"It got to the point where we couldn't even watch the beginning of the local news," Stiles said recently, "because the record was the lead story."

It's possible Stubblefield didn't completely understand the enormity of the pressure Stiles was feeling. She found out soon enough.

"I had brought a newspaper home and, without even realizing it, I said, 'Hey Jackie, did you know you only need however many points to break the record?' " Stubblefield said. "She said, 'If I can't come home and not listen to it, I'm not coming home.' "

So, not wanting to peeve the scoring phenom even further, Stubblefield tossed the newspaper in the trash and rededicated herself to the media ban at home.

Soon enough, the chase was over. On March 1, 2001, in a 94-59 victory over Creighton, Stiles broke the career scoring record of 3,122 points held by Patricia Hoskins (Mississippi Valley State, 1986-89), who had been flown in from Mississippi by John Q. Hammons just for the occasion.

Stiles needed 20 points to break the record, but it was treated almost as an afterthought that it would happen that night against Creighton.

The school printed 10,000 autographed photos of Stiles, with the record day noted, to pass out at the door; Missouri Valley Commissioner Doug Elgin, Gov. Bob Holden, state representatives B.J. Marsh and Craig Hosmer and Springfield Mayor Lee Gannaway all were on hand as were a building-record 68 media members; and a huge banner hung from the ceiling, reading "from your SMS teammates, coaches and fans on becoming the #1 scorer in the history of Division I Women's Basketball. March 1, 2001."

After the game, when the banner was unfurled, it finally hit Stiles.

"What if I wouldn't have done it that night?" she said. "You hear these stories now that I'm glad I didn't know at the time."

The Lady Bears dominated the game from the outset and led 50-21 at halftime. Stiles, double-teamed every time she touched the ball, managed 13 first-half points.

The record came in a typical Stiles' flurry. After a 12-foot jumper, a steal and a layup, the record-breaker came on a 3-pointer from the left wing with 18:40 remaining.

"It was awesome the way the record came -- on a 3-pointer," said current Lady Bear Roxy Stiles, Jackie's younger sister who was in sixth grade at the time. "Jackie had been a nervous wreck and by that game, our whole family was just a little bit on edge.

"I know it was a big relief for her just to get it done and move on with the season."

Former coach Cheryl Burnett said the staff and team had done as much as it could to shield Stiles from the pressure that came with chasing the record. MSU even hired a bodyguard for Stiles -- earning her razzing from teammates -- to help keep the autograph-seekers moving in the last few games before the record was set.

"From my perspective, I think practice and preparation for games is where she felt the least pressure," Burnett said. "It was out in the community where everyone was talking about it and the media was asking about it every second question.

"Once the game started, I think she felt a little more sheltered. But when that's in the back of your mind, it's a hard way to play."

Seven years after the whirlwind, Stiles has a better handle on what it means to be the NCAA's all-time leading scorer.

"I'm so fortunate, with how aggressive I played, that I never missed a game," she said. "I never thought it would end. At the time it goes so fast that you don't even have time to think.

"But you look back at that night and remember how special it was and how great the crowd was and everything that went along with it. I never could have dreamed of being the all-time leading scorer."

-- Kyle Neddenriep

4. Bears celebrate in style

(Southwest) Missouri State 83 Marquette 69 — March 17, 1986

It was a big St. Patrick's Day celebration.

That's the way Charlie Spoonhour remembers Missouri State's 83-69 victory over Marquette on March 17, 1986, in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.

Before, during and even well after the game, there was a buzz in the air.

"I remember leaving the arena," Spoonhour, coach of the Bears at the time, said recently. "People were just milling around. Everybody was having so much fun.

"We were all kids that night."

Before a standing-room-only crowd of 9,229 -- still an arena attendance record -- Winston Garland scored 22 points, Phil Schlegel added 21 and Greg Bell scored 16 as the Bears defeated coach Rick Majerus' team.

"Coach Majerus was considered a good coach, even back then, at least among the coaches," Spoonhour said. "They were supposed to get into the NCAA (Tournament) and didn't and they were unhappy.

"We played well. It was a wonderful, wonderful night."

The victory followed a first-round home-court NIT victory over Pittsburgh. For Bell, a junior at the time, getting a second home game was an unexpected treat.

Just like against Pittsburgh, Bell sensed that few people outside of the Ozarks gave the Bears a chance.

"They had a very strong team and came from a very strong conference," Bell said of Marquette. "But again, we put on our shorts and our tennis shoes just like them.

"We carried that 'SMS' on our chests with pride and it was in our hearts. We were the little Bears but roared like mighty Bears in those games."

The Bears were undersized, with the 6-foot-5 Bell and 6-6 Schlegel playing in the post against a bigger Marquette front line that included David Boone and Kerry Trotter.

But quickness and precision-like teamwork carved up Marquette's defense. The Bears shot 58 percent from the field, with Garland and Basil Robinson both getting six assists.

The Bears' streak of NIT home games ended after Marquette. They were sent to Florida for the quarterfinals, where they lost 54-53 to coach Norm Sloan's Gators.

If only that game could have been at Hammons.

"Teams knew that we were a team to be reckoned with in Hammons," said Kelby Stuckey, a freshman on the 1986 team. "To this day, 22 years later, I still get a big smile talking about those NIT games."

3. Elliott's game full of records

(Southwest) Missouri State 79 Drake 57 — Feb. 19, 1994

What a perfect debut for the "3" placards at Hammons Student Center.

In a 79-57 victory over Drake on Feb. 19, 1994, Melody (Howard) Elliott tied an NCAA record with 11 3-pointers, the last a 25-footer as she fell into the (Southwest) Missouri State bench.

"It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime games," Elliott said. "Maybe you have one like it in a pickup game somewhere, but that day was really special for me and my teammates. In a team sport, you don't accomplish anything by yourself."

Maybe not, but Elliott certainly stole the show on this day. The senior guard came into the showdown with Drake needing 37 points to surpass Jeanette Tendai's school record of 1,769 points and had several games left to get there.

But the former Marshfield High School star buried six 3-pointers in the first half, inducing the crowd of 8,908 to emphatically wave the white cards with the stenciled black "3" after each Elliott bomb.

"It was just a nightmare game for us," former Drake coach Lisa Bluder said.

"It seems like everything she put up went in. We told our team not to let her get another one and she would."

It was then-Lady Bears coach Cheryl Burnett who finally cooled Elliott, taking her out of the game after her ninth 3-pointer with nine minutes remaining. Realizing Elliott was closing in on Tendai's record -- and the crowd chanting, "We want Mel!" -- Burnett put her back in a few minutes later.

After a couple misses, Elliott not only broke Tendai's school scoring record, she tied the NCAA record for 3-pointers in a single game when she sank her 11th in 17 attempts. Danielle Viglione of Texas had set the record a few weeks earlier.

Elliot's 41 points set a school record and she set the single-season Missouri Valley Conference record for 3-pointers in the game.

"It almost seemed easier for me behind the line sometimes than in front of it," Elliott said. "The basket seemed huge that day. I wish I'd had a lot more days that felt like that."

-- Kyle Neddenriep

2. Stiles scores record 56

(Southwest) Missouri State 88 Evansville 75 — March 10, 2000

For an athlete who took pride in preparation, both physically and mentally, Jackie Stiles was rarely this sharp.

Still smoldering from a 13-point loss at Evansville a month earlier, the (Southwest) Missouri State Lady Bears met the Purple Aces again in a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament game on March 10, 2000.

Stiles, a junior, had been held scoreless in the first half of the previous meeting with Evansville and finished with 20 points in a failed comeback attempt.

But it wasn't the loss so much that motivated Stiles. It was the memory of a group of Evansville fraternity brothers who had chanted her name and mocked her that had Stiles so riled.

"I've never really told this story," Stiles said. "They usually didn't get very good crowds at Evansville and it was usually pretty quiet. But that day there were some fraternity guys there who were chanting 'Jackie! Jackie!' and 'Overrated!'

"Then I didn't score in the first half and they were chanting, 'Stiles, zero points!' They were on me the whole game. I was so frustrated that they had gotten in my head."

So, Stiles was seeing red, not purple, when the Lady Bears met the Aces and star Shyla McKibbon in the Valley semis.

"I was so focused," Stiles said. "Before the game, I kept telling myself, 'They shouldn't have heckled me, they shouldn't have heckled me.'

"I would rehearse things in my head like that."

Although Stiles scored 17 first-half points, it was McKibbon, a junior center, and the Aces who took a 39-30 lead at halftime.

The Lady Bears finally adjusted to slow down McKibbon, who finished with 31 points, and Stiles took over in an amazing show of offensive efficiency.

The legend from Claflin, Kan., scored 39 points in the second half to finish with a school-record 56 -- the fourth-highest mark in NCAA Division I history at the time. Scoring from just about every possible angle, Stiles was 18-for-22 (82 percent) from the field and 17-for-20 (85 percent) from the free-throw line.

Stiles' onslaught allowed MSU to pull away midway through the second half, resulting in an 88-75 victory and a date in the championship the next day against top-seeded Drake.

"I can only remember one other time when I played mad like that," Stiles said. "In high school we were playing a team and their whole student section was just ruthless. I had a terrible game and couldn't wait to play them again. I don't really get into records, but I got into this extreme focus and had 71 points."

-- Kyle Neddenriep

1. Bears blitz visiting Pitt

(Southwest) Missouri State 59 Pittsburgh 52 — March 12, 1986

It was common back in 1986 for the (Southwest) Missouri State basketball players to gather to watch college basketball games on ESPN. The Big East Conference was a big deal with Georgetown, Syracuse, St. John's and others dotting the top 10 rankings.

Pittsburgh was in that second tier of the Big East but had star power. Jerome Lane shattered a backboard on national TV and Charles Smith was one of the nation's top freshmen.

"We had watched them play several times on TV, against Georgetown and all those big teams," Bears forward Phil Schlegel said. "They were really, really good."

So, when the Bears were paired against Pittsburgh in a first-round game of the National Invitation Tournament?

"We were, like, 'Wow.' We knew we had a tough task ahead of us," Schlegel, a senior on that team, said recently.

Tough task or not, the Bears made their first postseason game as a Division I program memorable. Winston Garland scored 15 points and Schlegel added 12 in a 59-52 victory before 8,710 fans.

Kelby Stuckey, a freshman center at the time, said getting past the initial shock of being paired against Pittsburgh was the toughest chore. But Garland was the biggest star of all on that night, making a school-record eight steals, and Pittsburgh committed 27 turnovers.

Bears coach Charlie Spoonhour's first question to NIT selection committee member Dick Groat was, "Why are they coming to our place?"

Groat's response, Spoonhour recalled, made sense considering Missouri State had no track record in D-I postseason.

"He told me, 'If we'd have sent your team to Pittsburgh we couldn't have even got family and friends to come out.' "

-- Lyndal Scranton

--Lyndal Scranton