St. LOUIS -- In celebration of 25 years of women's sports in the Missouri Valley Conference and the 45th anniversary of Title IX, the league announced Tuesday that Missouri State's Melody Howard, Kari Koch and Jackie Stiles were among the 10 athletes selected to the Valley's 25-Year Anniversary Team in women's basketball. Stiles was the top choice in the balloting.

An initiative for all women's sports in the league, 25-year team composition was determined by a 25-person committee, including two representatives from each MVC institution and a panel of five voters from the conference office. The team composition includes years in which league teams competed under the MVC umbrella during the past 25 years (1992-2017) and does not include competition from the current season.

The 1994 MVC Player of the Year, Howard was a three-time all-MVC pick and scored 1,944 points in her Missouri State career. A two-time All-American both athletically and academically, Howard hit 258 3-pointers in her career, shooting at a 44 percent clip, and helped the Lady Bears to the 1992 Final Four. She still owns MSU's single-season record with 104 treys during the 1993-94 season.

A four-time first-team all-MVC selection, the 2003 MVC Freshman of the Year and 2004 MVC Player of the Year, Koch ranks seventh in MVC history with 2,073 career points. She owns Missouri State's career 3-point record with 271 treys, and ranks second in career steals and assists at MSU. She earned MVC Tournament MVP honors in 2003 and 2006.

Now an assistant coach for the Lady Bears, Stiles is the most decorated athlete in MVC women's basketball history. The 2001 National Player of the Year, Stiles was a four-time All-American, three-time MVC Player of the Year, four-time first-team all-MVC selection, and her 3,393 points stood as the NCAA career scoring record for nearly 16 years, from March 1, 2001-Feb. 25, 2017.

Additional team members include Carla Bennett, Tricia Wakely and Lizzy Wendell of Drake, Illinois State's Kristi Cirone, Indiana State's Melanie Boeglin, Jacqui Kalin of UNI, and Wichita State's Alex Harden.

For women's basketball, a total of 49 student-athletes were nominated, and the voting panel determined a 'Top 10' from a list of 25 finalists.