(Editor's note: Southwest Missouri State junior guard Jackie Stiles will share a weekly diary with ESPN.com throughout the season. Stiles, the nation's top Division I scorer, averages 26.9 points and is the SMS all-time scoring leader with more than 1,944 points.)

Feb. 2, 2000

Hey Lady Bear fans!!! It has been a long week, but a successful one. I went through my first full week of school since the semester began and am starting to get into a routine again.

	Jackie Stiles of SMS led the nation in scoring in 1999-2000 with a 27.8 average.

We had two very tough practices to start the week, but I survived. I still managed to get my shooting workouts in after practice but it was tougher than usual. Early in the week I was very tired, most likely because of our long road trip to Illinois State and Indiana State last week. Wednesday's practice was lighter than normal because I think coach (Cheryl) Burnett sensed that the team was a little tired.

On Thursday we had a conference game against Northern Iowa. After my morning classes, we had our shoot around at 1:30 p.m. and then headed to our pregame meal. After my 45-minute pregame nap, I watched a Larry Bird video and drank a pop. I don't always get to watch my video before the game, but I have to have my caffeine. If I don't have a pop before a game, I usually get a headache. As a matter of fact, I also have a pop right after the game as well. I won't tell you how many I drink in a day. You wouldn't believe me.

We knew we would have to play well against Northern Iowa. The Panthers are in the upper half of the Missouri Valley Conference and always play very hard. In the first half, we came out very sluggish and didn't play with a lot of intensity. I think being at home we kind of expected things to happen instead of making it happen. The second half was much better. We came out and played with a lot more defensive intensity, which created better offensive chances. I was struggling throughout the game until I found my rhythm in the last six minutes of the game. We won 59-41!!

	THE FULL DOSE OF DIARIES
	Notre Dame's Ruth Riley: On any given night
	Oregon's Shaquala Williams: Facing former teammates
	UCLA's Maylana Martin: Getting sentimental

Saturday against Bradley was as tough as it could get. I tried to approach Bradley like any other game, but I couldn't help but feel more pressure than normal. I've never been one to even focus on or pay attention to records, but this past week, the SMS career scoring record was a hot topic.

It was very hard to avoid because everywhere I turned, people were talking about the record. When Saturday finally arrived, a capacity crowd of more than 9,000 fans packed Hammons. I approached the game with the same intensity as every other game, but I could feel the expectations in the building. My teammates and coaches did a great job of creating scoring opportunities, so I was able get the record out of the way in the first half. I didn't realize how much pressure there really was until after I broke the record. I felt as light as a feather in the second half. Our bench really stepped up in the win against the Braves.

I really want to thank all the fans for coming out and supporting us, in spite of the weather (it snowed) and making Hammons Student Center the greatest atmosphere in women's college basketball.

The wins last week made Super Bowl Sunday much more enjoyable. My boyfriend had a party for my team and I think we all had a lot of fun. It was nice to get together with my teammates in a social setting and just have fun. After all, it was a typical Super Bowl party: we watched the Rams win, socialized and, of course, stuffed our faces.

This week I'm really looking forward to starting the second half of our conference season at home against Creighton and Drake. They are both tough opponents and hopefully, after a good week of practices, we'll come out ready to play on Thursday and Saturday.

Go Lady Bears!!

Jackie #10