News Articles – 2003

Stiles refuses to let injuries end her career

By Bob Lutz
Wichita Eagle
November 19, 2003

Jackie Stiles can barely walk down the street without hurting some part of her body. The former Southwest Missouri State All-America basketball player, from Claflin, missed a good chunk of the 2002 WNBA season and all of 2003, spending them instead inside hospitals and operating rooms. She’s 25 and feels as if she’s 125. “I’ve had seven surgeries since Sept. 11, 2001,” Stiles said. “Eight if you count lasik eye surgery. It’s like I’m the Bionic Woman, all metal. But now I know I’m done with them, knock on wood. Now I’m learning to work with what I have left.”
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Stiles teaches campers while eyeing comeback

By Jack Harris
Parsons Sun
October 28, 2003

Basketball legend Jackie Stiles said Saturday she had been through Parsons “many times.” “It’s always been a pit stop for me, on my way to school from Claflin and back,” said the greatest scorer in the history of both Kansas high school and NCAA women’s basketball. On Saturday, though, the former All-American and Women’s National Basketball Association Rookie of the Year made a basketball stop here, conducting an afternoon camp for a big group of Parsons-area girls, and a few boys,…
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Stiles driven by competitiveness

By Scott Puryear
Springfield News-Leader
July 13, 2003

It’s easy for some to look at Jackie Stiles’ basketball plight and wonder, with some sympathy and an element of disbelief, “shouldn’t she be moving on with her life?” After all, here’s a 24-year-old former SMS star who’s had six surgeries in the past 22 months, four on a nagging, painful wrist and heel that reduced her from WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2001 to a part-time player last season,…
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Stiles puts positive spin on plight

By Jason Vondersmith
Portland Tribune
June 27, 2003

Jackie Stiles may be too young to realize where rock bottom is, but being injured and essentially unemployed, with her basketball future in doubt, sure feels like it. “It’s been a struggle,” the former Portland Fire player says. “I’ve learned one thing: When I get back out on the court, and I’m 100 percent, I’ll enjoy every minute I’m out there. “I’ll enjoy my workouts and not think they’re a chore or monotonous ever again. I’ll appreciate it so much.
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Stiles goes to Sparks with last pick

By Scott Puryear
Springfield News-Leader
April 25, 2003

Being picked last in the WNBA Dispersal Draft could be construed as an insult to its former league rookie of the year, if only it didn’t have the makings of a blessing in disguise for Jackie Stiles….
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20 Questions with Jackie Stiles

WNBA.com
April 22, 2003

Favorite song to do a karaoke number to? Madonna’s “Like A Prayer” Worst song of all time? “YMCA” What’s in your CD player right now? A CD I burned with Creed, “Like A Prayer,” “Eye of the Tiger,” “Right Now,” etc. Favorite pro athlete (non-WNBA)? Jackie Joyner-Kersee,…
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Stiles Looks to Make Up for Lost Time

By Rob Peterson
WNBA.com
March 4, 2003

New York, March 4 — Jackie Stiles may have the sweetest shot of any player — male or female — on the planet. Too bad no one has seen her unleash it in quite some time. Stiles, the WNBA’s 2001 Rookie of the Year, was beset with injuries last year that left her season in shambles. Those injuries limited her to 21 games and three measly starts as Stiles saw her scoring average drop from 14.9 points in her rookie season to 6.0 in her second. “It was very frustrating – mentally and physically,” Stiles said. “I never went through major injuries like that. I was just hit hard…
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Stiles appreciated fans, but glad to leave behind team dissension

Because nobody bid on the recent Fire sale, leaving the WNBA’s Portland team officially defunct, former SMS star Jackie Stiles is homeless. But, Stiles admits, leaving the Fire might not be such a bad thing. “Maybe a fresh start will be good for me,” Stiles said. Don’t get her wrong. Stiles appreciated the fans of Portland for the way they embraced the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader in two seasons with the Fire…
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Portland Fire’s demise didn’t get much attention

By John J. Mesh
McCook Daily Gazette
January 3, 2003

Here’s a sports item that didn’t get much attention — the Portland Fire of the Women’s National Basketball Association folded earlier this week. Several other teams will be moving to new cities. But with all the college football bowl games, the NFL playoffs and other major items, the fate of the WNBA kind of just flew quietly under the radar screen. It wasn’t even a blip. Associated Press did not even report the story. I guess it wasn’t big enough…
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