Never out of Stiles

Stop her and the game is won.

Such will likely be the mindset when Duke heads into Spokane, Wash. to face Southwest Missouri State Saturday. Of course, that was probably what Rutgers was thinking last Monday when it hosted Jackie Stiles and her Lady Bears.

Stiles is by most expert accounts the best offensive player in the country. Just ask the Scarlet Knights, who she lit up for 32 points and who saw her put away their Final Four hopes with lethal free-throw shooting down the stretch.

"She is just incredible," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "She is shooting over 50 percent from the 3-point line so you have to go out and defend her. She has an unbelievably explosive first step. She loves the midrange pull-up jumper. She is a great athlete and can pull up on a dime."

In a year when women's basketball has seen several of its stars fall to injury, Stiles has emerged as the darling of the media, largely a result of her becoming the leading scorer in Division I history last month.

The pursuit of the record made for great headlines, which had been helped along by Stiles' almost made-for-media charisma. As she neared the record, sold-out gyms became the norm, as did a level of publicity unexpected by the senior from tiny Claflin, Kan.

Not that it is undeserved. Stiles is scoring an astonishing 30.3 points per game this season, and her performance is nothing new. Stiles averaged over 20 points in her freshman campaign and has made an All-American team each of her last three years, including being named to the first team this season.

Her high school days, when she also starred in track, were even more dominant. She averaged 46.4 points her senior year and scored a state-record 71 points in a single game. Stiles may have tried to avoid the spotlight by going to college in Springfield, Mo., but instead she has become a posterchild for her sport this season.

"I've seen highlights and I have a lot of respect for her game," Stiles said. "The sky's the limit. I think there are some similarities between us; she likes to dribble a lot, like me, even though we both play the two."

Nonetheless, there is a line between respect and being intimidated, and Stiles says she is very comfortable playing against taller opponents.

"I've got experience against great players," Stiles said. "I played against the Olympic team, against players like Sheryl Swoopes, and one of the toughest defenses we've played is Rutgers. Their athleticism is incredible."

Beard recognized that she will need good help-defense from her teammates. That may also mean some increased minutes for Rometra Craig, who is particularly adept at guarding the perimeter.

"You just have to play smart," Beard said. "You can't guard too close; you can't step off of her because she can hit the three. It's going to be a hard matchup; she can do it all. As a team, we have to be smart in guarding her."

Easily said. Now Goestenkors must devise a plan that will work against a player who has scored under double-digits just twice in her college career. Stiles said that her team is out for respect, and a perhaps overconfident Rutgers team found out the hard way last week that the squad deserves it.

Although Stiles has only faced a few teams as talented and deep as the Blue Devils this season, Duke arguably has yet to deal with a player who can so quickly take over a game. The plan for Goestenkors may not be how to stop Stiles, but rather which parts of her game to control.

"Hopefully, we can take away the free throws," Duke's coach said. "You don't want to foul her because not only is she getting free points and easy points because she is a great free throw shooter. It also means you are getting some of your players in foul trouble as well, and we cannot afford to have our players in foul trouble."