Gariss was a three-year starter for the women's basketball program at Missouri Southern from 1998-2002. Named the CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year in 2002, she is one of only two Missouri Southern student-athletes to ever earn that honor.
A standout on the court, Gariss was named first-team All-MIAA and All-District in 2000-01, after averaging 18.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. She finished second in the MIAA in both scoring and rebounds, while producing eight double-doubles that season. She also was named honorable mention All-American that season.
For her career, Gariss averaged 12.9 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game, while shooting .485 from the field and .735 from the free-throw line. She finished her career as the eighth-leading scorer in Missouri Southern history with 1,230 points and added 588 rebounds to go with that total.
In the classroom, Gariss graduated with a perfect 4.00 GPA, while making it through the honors program at Southern, serving as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President, and actively participating in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She was a two-time Academic All-American, a two-time MIAA Presidential Scholar, a two-time Academic All-MIAA pick, and a three-time MIAA Academic Honor Roll honoree.
Gariss and her husband Josh, have three children Kinley (5), Hunter (3) and Will (two months). The family resides in Joplin where Katie is a physician's assistant at Ortho of the Four States.