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No end in sight for SAU's Clark
Posted Online: Nov. 03, 2009, 9:42 pm
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By Chris Steele, sports@qconline.com
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Senior Jenny Clark isn't treating this season like it's her last in a St. Ambrose University women's basketball uniform. Instead, Clark is treating every game this season like it's her very first. The 20th ranked St. Ambrose Queen Bees buzzed through NAIA Div. I University of St. Francis (Ill.) 86-74 to open the 2009-10 seasonTuesday evening at Lee Lohman Arena. Clark's lights-out shooting led the Queen Bees with 26 points, 24 of those coming from 3-point range. Among those was a banked trey from half court at the end of the first half. Clark already has a long list of accomplishments in her three years at SAU but, after a pre-game talk with assistant coach Jen Goetz, Clark knew partly how to make her senior season a special one outside of a lot of wins. "Coach Goetz pulled me aside before the game today and told me that a lot of seniors get told to play every game like it's your last," Clark said. "Reverse that and play every game like it's your first. I absolutely love that statement from her because it's true. If you play every game like it's your first you're going to go out not thinking about the end." Former Davenport Assumption standout Annie Smith was another Queen Bee making some firsts after transferring in from Southwest Minnesota State. Smith scored 17 points, hauled down six defensive rebounds, and blocked two shots in her first Ambrose start. Her terrific first half helped the hosts build a double-digit lead eight minutes into the game and they never trailed after that. The sophomore says that her transition was made easier because of team leaders Clark and Ali Dolphin. "They just have amazing work ethic," Smith said of her new teammates. "Everyone on the team, they just push you so hard. Even if you're not doing well, they know how to get you motivated, or how to make you play harder." The 6-foot-2 Smith's size should help the Bees on the inside after SAU was out-rebounded an average of seven boards a game last season. "She's a hard match-up for other teams to guard," St. Ambrose coach Nathan Altenhofen said of his new forward. "Very versatile, very good skills for someone at that size. And she can stroke it. She can put it in the hole -- that's always a good thing." 
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