The Miss Show-Me Basketball honor recognizes the top female high school basketball player in the state of Missouri. The name of the award differs from other Miss Basketball awards to reflect Missouri's state nickname, the Show-Me State. The award is presented annually by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. In order to be considered for the award, nominees must have been nominated by their high school coach, started in 90 percent of all games, must be high school seniors, and must be of "outstanding moral character". Ten girls are selected as finalists after nominations are compiled, and a special committee of assistant college coaches in Missouri choose the winner.

The first recipient of the honor was Janet Clark in 1985, who is the all-time leader in total points scored for the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats women's basketball team with 2,121 points. Two sisters, Lori and Lisa Sandbothe, received the honor in 1986 and 1987 respectively and both went on to play for the Missouri Tigers women's basketball team. In 2015, the honor was shared between Napheesa Collier and Sophie Cunningham, who both played as teammates in the McDonald's All-American Game that year. Five recipients of the Miss Show-Me Basketball honor have been drafted into the WNBA, the highest draft pick being Kristin Folkl with the 1st overall pick in the 1999 WNBA draft as part of the initial expansion player allocation. Other recipients of the honor have played with professional teams in Europe and Asia, such as Kari Koch and Shakara Jones in Greece, Heather Ezell in Iceland, and Yvonne Anderson in Turkey. Many recipients have also pursued coaching opportunities in high schools and colleges.

Winners

YearPlayerHigh SchoolCollegeNotesRefs
1985Janet ClarkLafayetteNorthwest Missouri StateAll-time leader in total points scored for the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats women's basketball team with 2,121 points
1986Lori SandbotheWashingtonMissouriPlayed for the Missouri Tigers women's basketball team with her sister and fellow Miss Show-Me Basketball recipient Lisa Sandbothe
1987Lisa SandbotheWashingtonMissouriPlayed for the Missouri Tigers women's basketball team with her sister and fellow Miss Show-Me Basketball recipient Lori Sandbothe
1988Rhonda MooreHazelwood EastMissouriNamed on the 20-year all-star women's basketball team for the Greater St. Louis area by The St. Louis American in 2006
1989Kim MahnDe SotoOklahoma StateIn 2018, Mahn was the first athlete in De Soto High School history to have a number retired
1990Melody HowardMarshfieldMissouri StatePlayed for the United States in the 1993 World University Games, inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1999
1991Melissa GriderMarshfieldMissouri SouthernScored 3,211 total points in her high school career (Missouri record until 2010), named on the all-time Ozarks women's basketball team by Ozark Preps Illustrated in 2015
1992Andrea SiemerJacksonMissouriNamed to the academic all-conference team three years in a row while playing for the Missouri Tigers women's basketball team
1993Marsha BurtonMarionvilleMissouri State and EvangelReceived NAIA All-American honors in 1997, basketball coach for Pierce City High School and Hurley High School
1994Kristin FolklSt. Joseph'sStanfordSelected by the Minnesota Lynx in the first round (1st overall pick) of the 1999 WNBA draft as part of the initial expansion player allocation, All-American her senior year playing for the Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team, first-alternate for the United States women's volleyball team during the 1996 Summer Olympics, recipient of the Dial Award for the top female high school athlete in the country in 1994
1995Amy RheaSt. JamesJohn BrownHonored with Freshman of the Year in the Sooner Athletic Conference in 1996, all-time leader in total points scored for the St. James High School women's basketball team with 2,604 points
1996Niele IveyCor JesuNotre DameSelected by the Indiana Fever in the second round (17th overall pick) of the 2001 WNBA draft, played in the WNBA for the Indiana Fever, Detroit Shock, and Phoenix Mercury, assistant basketball coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team, named on the 20-year all-star women's basketball team for the Greater St. Louis area by The St. Louis American in 2006
1997April McKinneyIncarnate WordSaint LouisNamed on the 20-year all-star women's basketball team for the Greater St. Louis area by The St. Louis American in 2006
1998Lauren JacksonNorth Kansas CityMemphisAll-time leader in total points scored for the North Kansas City High School women's basketball team with 2,124 points
1999Karensa BarrWest PlainsMissouriMember of the Big 12 All-Star European Tour, invited to the USA Basketball tryouts in 2001, inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2018
2000Terianne WolfordNixaMissouriAll-time leader in total points scored for the Nixa Public High School women's basketball team with 2,267 points
2001Dionnah JacksonParkway WestOklahomaSelected by the Detroit Shock in the first round (13th overall pick) of the 2005 WNBA draft, assistant basketball coach for Mississippi State University and Southeast Missouri State University
2002Kari KochElsberryMissouri StatePlayed professional basketball in Greece for five years, named on the MVC all-centennial team in 2007, assistant basketball coach for Auburn University
2003Laura GranzowKickapooDenver and CanisiusNominated for the Gatorade Player of the Year award and the McDonald's All-American Game
2004Katie DierdorfVisitationMichiganInjuries plagued Dierdorf for the majority of her collegiate career with the Michigan Wolverines women's basketball team
2005Heather EzellKickapooIowa StatePlayed professional basketball for Haukar in Iceland for the 2009–2010 season, assistant basketball coach for Fairfield University
2006Mackenzie StirmlingerSt. Joseph'sIowa StateNominated for the Gatorade Player of the Year award
2007Shakara JonesFrancis Howell CentralMissouriPlayed professional basketball in Greece for Asteras Exarchion
2008Yvonne AndersonHickmanTexasSigned a training camp contract with the Chicago Sky in 2017, played in the Turkish Women's Basketball League for Galatasaray
2009Morgan JohnsonPlatte CountyIowaAll-time leader for the Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team in career shot blocks with 293 blocks
2010Anne Marie HartungBowling GreenTexasPlayed for the Texas Longhorns women's basketball team for only two seasons
2011Shelby WinkelmannHermannCentral MissouriNamed to the 2015–2016 CoSIDA Academic All-American team for Division II
2012Taylor ManuelIncarnate WordPurdue, Loyola (IL), and Ole MissAwarded the 2014–2015 Missouri Valley Newcomer of the Year
2013Sierra MichaelisMercerMissouri
2014Carrie ShephardSouth PemiscotMissouri and SEMO
2015Napheesa CollierIncarnate WordUConnSelected by the Minnesota Lynx in the first round (6th overall pick) of the 2019 WNBA draft
Sophie CunninghamRock BridgeMissouriSelected by the Phoenix Mercury in the second round (13th overall pick) of the 2019 WNBA draft
2016Taylor BaurMICDSPrinceton
2017Lauryn MillerKirkwoodUCLA
2018Sonya MorrisIncarnate WordDePaul
2019Hayley FrankStraffordMissouri
2020Katie ScottCarl JunctionGrand Canyon, Oral Roberts, and Point Loma
2021Serena SundellMaryvilleKansas State
2022Ysabella FontleroyKickapooBaylor
2023Grace SlaughterGrain ValleyMissouri
2024Allie TurnerJohn BurroughsGonzaga
2025Nevaeh CoffeyIncarnate Word AcademyIndiana

Schools with multiple winners

SchoolNumber of AwardsYears
Incarnate Word41997, 2012, 2015, 2018
Kickapoo32003, 2005, 2022
Marshfield21990, 1991
St. Joseph's21994, 2006
Washington21986, 1987

See also