Hall of Fame
A native of Marshfield, Mo., Melody Howard was the key piece of the puzzle to the evolution of Southwest Missouri State Lady Bear Basketball.
As a sophomore in 1991-92, Howard started and averaged 14.4 points per game. That year, the Lady Bears – as members of the Gateway Athletic Conference – advanced to the NCAA Women’s Final Four in Los Angeles, Calif., losing to Western Kentucky (84-72) in the national semifinals.
The Valley’s all-time three-point field goal leader with 258 career treys, Howard was a two-time first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection (1993 and 1994).
She was an honorable mention Kodak All-American in 1992 and 1994. She received GTE/College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-America distinction in 1993 (third team) and 1994 (second team).
As a senior in 1994, she earned Valley Player-of-the-Year honors, while leading the Lady Bears to back-to-back regular-season and league tournament titles.
She ended her career as the Lady Bears’ all-time scoring leader with 1,944 points, averaging 15.3 points per game, and was 258-of-588 from the three-point range (.439).
On Feb. 19, 1994, she tied an NCAA record with 11 three-pointers in a league game against Drake. That performance earned her Sports Illustrated National Player-of-the-Week laurels.
Howard was named to USA Basketball’s World University Games team in 1993 and 1995 and played for USA Basketball’s Pan American Games team in 1995.
On Feb. 25, 1996, she became only the second Lady Bear player to have her number (#35) retired. She played three seasons for the ABL’s Colorado Xplosion.