Classroom:Tahnee is a fourth-year senior majoring in entertainment management, with career aspirations of entering the basketball coaching profession. She currently has a 3.85 cumulative grade-point average and is expected to graduate in December of 2008. She has twice been named a Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete, receiving honorable mention recognition as a sophomore in 2005-06 and first-team honors as a junior in 2006-07. She received the MVC Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award and was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII Second Team in 2006-07.
Character:As one of just two returning regulars in 2006-07, Balerio was the definition of a leader, both on and off the floor. She served as team captain and led the team in nine offensive categories while registering a 3.64 GPA during the 2007 spring semester. Additionally, she was called upon to shoulder the brunt of the load in terms of media exposure during a difficult 7-21 season and subsequent coaching change. She fulfilled each and every media request, usually after each game, as well as two to three instances outside of game situations during any given week. She did so adeptly and without complaint in a manner that cast her teammates, coaches and the university in a positive light.
Competition:As a senior, Balerio will once again be the driving force behind the Missouri State offense as one of the top point guards in the country. She led the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring with an 18.5 ppg. average en route to earning first team all-conference honors in 2006-07, accounting for more than 30 percent of the Lady Bears’ offense last year. She has already cracked several Missouri State career top 10 lists; she currently ranks eighth all-time in free-throw percentage (.821) and three-point field-goal attempts (304), and ninth in three-point field-goals made (95). Entering the 2007-08 season, she needs 74 assists and just 24 free throws to reach the career top 10 charts for those categories. Additionally, Balerio is just 135 points away from becoming the 19th player in school history to reach the career 1,000-point mark. Last year, she led the Lady Bears in scoring 19 times and assists in 26 of MSU’s 28 contests. She registered 25 double-digit scoring games and had 10 outings of 20 points or more. Balerio’s 39-point outburst versus Oregon is the 15th-highest single-game total in MSU history, while her 519 points for the season ranks 12th all-time. In addition to leading the conference and ranking 35th nationally in scoring, Balerio finished among the league’s statistical leaders in a number of categories. Her 4.9 assists per contest ranked third in the MVC, as did her 36.6 minute and 2.3 three-point field-goal per game averages. Balerio also posted top 10 MVC finishes in steals (6th), free-throw percentage (4th) and assist-turnover ratio (9th), while her scoring average rated as the 10th-best all-time at Missouri State. With her 32-point effort versus Drake on Feb. 25, Balerio joined Jackie Stiles and Jenni Lingor as the only players in Lady Bear history to post four 30-point contests in a single season. Balerio also played a key role on Missouri State’s 2005 WNIT national championship team and received all-tournament recognition for her role in the Lady Bears’ run to the 2006 State Farm MVC Tournament title and subsequent NCAA Tournament berth.