Junior (1999-2000)
Melody Peterson was a consistent contributor for the Huskers during hte 1999-2000 season. She appeared in 23 games, cracking into the starting lineup for 21 games. She averaged 7.8 points and 4.3 rebounds for the Huskers, while hitting 43.9 percent (65-148) of her shots from the field.
In addition, Peterson dished out 88 assists, the third most on the team, while also recording 55 steals. Peterson had a team-high number of assists nine times, including seven assists against Iowa State and Kanas State. Also against Iowa State Peterson had a season-high 15 points.
Stanford University (1998-1999)
Peterson did not play basketball at Stanford, but did remain enrolled as a full-time student while completing her bachelor's degree in political science and African-American studies.
She did play rugby as a club sport for a team that won the national championship. Peterson earned collegiate All-American honors as a rugby player in 1999 as a fullback/outside center for the U.S. National Rugby Team.
Sophomore (Stanford University, 1997-98)
Peterson averaged 7.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in 21.9 minutes of action per game. She made 12 starts and was one of only four players to appear in all 27 games for the Cardinals.
She shot 45.1 percent (73-162) from the field, including 25.5 percent (12-47) from three-point range. She also connected on 69.5 percent (41-59) of her free throw attempts.
Peterson ranked among Cardinal players with 86 assists and 39 steals, while ranking third with nine blocked shots.
Stanford advanced to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the West Region but was upset in the first round by Harvard.
Freshman (Stanford University, 1996-97)
Peterson played in 23 of 36 games for Stanford, primarily at the point guard position. She saw a total of 81 minutes of action, averaging 1.2 points and 0.7 rebounds, while recording three assists, five steals and five blocked shots. She hit 35.7 percent (10-28) of her field goal attempts, including 3 of 6 of her three-point attempts, to go along with 44.5 percent (4-9) shooting from the free throw line, as Stanford advanced to the NCAA Final Four.
High School
Peterson claimed high school All-America honors from Street & Smith's a nd Parade Magazine as a senior at Mater Dei High School in 1996. She also earned a spot on the Nike/WBCA All-Star Classic and was listed among USA Today's Top 20 recruits in the nation.
As a senior, Peterson averaged 19 points, six rebounds, six assists and six steals. She led Mater Dei to back-to-back California Interscholastic Federation titles during her junior and senior years, while finishing her career with more than 2,000 points for Coach James Anderson. Mater Dei finished ranked among the top 15 teams in the nation by USA Today in her junior and senior season and finished her career as a four-year starter.
She was also the Orange County Register and L.A. Times Player of the Year in 1995 after a junior season in which she averaged 25 points, 7.5 rebounds, five assists and six steals.
A four-time first-team All-CIF selection, Peterson averaged 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and six steals as a sophomore, while averaging 20 points, four rebounds, five assists and six steals as a freshman.
Along with earning four varsity letters in basketball, Peterson was also a standout in track and field and an honor roll student.
Personal
Melody is the daughter of Pete and Sherry Peterson. She was born April 1, 1978, in Pasedena, Calif. Melody has two sisters, Missy, 32, and Michelle, 29, and a brother, Michael, 30. Melody is pursuing a master's degree in business administration at Nebraska.