Nobody understands "There's no place like home" any better than a Kansas girl does. Jackie Stiles grew up in tiny Claflin, Kansas, where you can pretty much drive through the city limits without blinking. But her college home was Springfield, Missouri, where she played for what was then called Southwest Missouri State. And it's there that Stiles had a truly magical night 16 years ago.
That was a Thursday -- March 1, 2001 -- and Stiles needed 20 points against Creighton to become the leading scorer in women's basketball history in the NCAA era, which began in 1981-82.
Stiles scored 30. And she did it in front of a packed house at home, on an evening that went perfectly, and remains wonderfully frozen in time for all who saw it.
And now the woman who has passed Stiles on the scoring list -- Washington's Kelsey Plum -- will have a similar memory that she shares forever with her fans of setting a monumental record on her home court.
Plum had a bigger task, of course, to get it done at Alaska Airlines Arena: She started Saturday's game against Utah 54 points shy of passing Stiles' mark of 3,393. Surely, most thought, Plum would break the record in Seattle -- but next week at KeyArena in the Pac-12 tournament.
Didn't happen like that, though, and you can't help but grin that Plum did it this way. She got the record on her turf, in front of the Washington faithful, and did it with one of the best single-game performances in women's basketball history: 57 points in the Huskies' 84-77 regular-season finale victory over Utah.
Long Beach State's Cindy Brown (1987) and Minnesota's Rachel Banham (2016) still hold the NCAA record for points in a game, with 60. Drake's Lorri Bauman (1984) and Louisiana-Lafayette's Kim Perrot (1990) are tied for third with 58 points. But guess whom Plum passed for fifth place with her 57? Yep, Stiles, who scored 56 during a game in her junior year in 2000.
Also consider that Missouri State (the name that SMS goes by now) unveiled a statue of Stiles just two weeks ago at JQH Arena in Springfield. The bronze image of Stiles dribbling the ball, looking like she is about to drive the lane with fierce determination, was supposed to be unveiled in November. But there were issues getting it shipped to Springfield, and so the date was pushed back to Feb. 12.
It's just another thing that seems kind of serendipitous -- for the Stiles statue's unveiling ceremony to come so close to Plum's record-breaking performance. The statue is a reminder of not just Stiles' record, but the magical career she had at Missouri State, where she's now an assistant coach.
The month of March in her senior season was especially amazing. It started with Stiles setting the scoring mark -- previously held by Mississippi Valley State's Patricia Hoskins, who was in attendance for Stiles' record-breaking game -- and ended with a trip to the Final Four in St. Louis, just three hours from Missouri State's campus.
Plum already has a Final Four under her belt; she and the Huskies made the program's first appearance last year in Indianapolis as a No. 7 seed. Plum has taken an all-business approach this season, intent on looking forward to another run at the Final Four, and not seeming to spend any time reflecting on what she and the Huskies accomplished last season.
In that and many other ways, Plum and Stiles are much alike. Like Stiles, Plum is a workhorse guard who has combined her natural skills and athleticism with the mental toughness to grind out countless shooting sessions. Like Stiles, she is single-minded in her pursuit of getting everything she can out of her talent. Like Stiles, she can put her team on her back, but she doesn't want it to be "about her." She wants it to be about winning.
"I think we changed some perceptions about our program," Plum said before this season of how much impact the Huskies' Final Four run had. "It's been a unique experience trying to tap into that national scene and gain a little more recognition for the Pac-12 and our style of play."
She couldn't have elevated Washington, the Pac-12 and herself any better than she did with the amazing effort she had Saturday. And, of course, Plum isn't done: The Pac-12 and NCAA tournaments await.
Plum now has 3,397 points. And no matter how many more she adds to that, the numbers 2/25/17 and 57 will forever remain stamped in her memory. As will the place it happened: Home sweet home.