Documentary about Jackie Stiles to premiere at Gillioz Theatre, tickets on sale

A documentary chronicling the unlikely basketball career of Jackie Stiles will premiere in March at Springfield's Gillioz Theatre.

The 90-minute film directed by Brent Huff tells the story of a 5-foot-8 girl from the small town of Claflin, Kansas — population 600 — who became a basketball legend in the Midwest.

Stiles averaged 47.5 points a game in high school.

At Missouri State University, she averaged 30 points a game as part of the Lady Bears, scoring more than 1,000 points in a single season.

She became the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history, a record she held for 16 years.

Stiles was selected fourth overall by the Portland Fire in the 2001 WNBA Draft and was later voted Rookie of the Year.

The "Jackie Stiles Story" will premiere March 1 at the Gillioz Theatre with screenings at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

According to an announcement from the Gillioz, Stiles will be at the premiere and there will be a live Q&A discussion.

The film focuses on Stiles' "hard work and unwavering determination" and the goals she accomplished. But, it also questions the price she paid.

Stiles was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame and was inducted, as part of the Class of 2016, into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

In 2012, Stiles became an assistant coach at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

More:Jackie Stiles takes two Ubers, gets stranded on 300-mile trip to buy a car in Republic

In mid-2013, she returned to Missouri State as an assistant coach for the Lady Bears. Five years later, after pursuing the head coaching job with the Lady Bears, Stiles was hired as an assistant coach for the University of Oklahoma.

This summer, Stiles left a coaching job in Tulsa after a couple months to move back to Springfield and work on opening a gym.

Claudette Riley is a reporter for the News-Leader. Email news tips to criley@news-leader.com.