Missouri State

KARI KOCH
Women's Basketball, 2002-2006
Inducted 2013

Kari Koch was a four-year starter at guard and played on four straight postseason tournament teams for the Lady Bears of coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. Koch was a four-time all-Missouri Valley Conference first team selection and was honored as the MVC Freshman of the Year in 2003 and MVC Player of the Year in 2004. In 2003 she became the first freshman in MVC history to be selected MVP of the league tourney. She was picked to the MVC all-defensive team in 2004 and 2006, the league scholar-athlete team in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and the MVC all-centennial team in 2007. She was also a WBCA Kodak honorable mention All-America as a senior. Koch played on MSU NCAA tournament teams at Lubbock, Texas in 2003, South Bend, Ind., in 2004, and West Lafayette, Ind., in 2006. The 2005 Lady Bears chalked up consecutive wins over SMU, Gonzaga, Texas A&M, Iowa and West Virginia to capture the title of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. In MVC play, MSU finished first in league play in 2004 and 2005 and won conference tournament titles in 2003, 2004 and 2006. Koch finished her playing days as the program’s second-leading career scorer (now third) with 2,073 points and finished fourth in MSU career field goals made (709) and free throw percentage (.857). She is the all-time leader in 3-point field goals (271), 3-point attempts (677) and steals (340) and is second in assists (529). She scored an average of 14.7 points as a freshman, 17.8 her sophomore season, 14.9 as a junior and 20.2 when she was a senior. A native of Elsberry, Mo., Koch played professional basketball in Athens, Greece for five years, where her honors included all-Greek League first team selection in 2011. Koch is in her first season on the basketball staff at Auburn University where she is a graduate assistant.