San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
All eyes now on defending-champ Clark
Having shed underdog status, Bulldogs understand they’ll be the team ‘everyone wants to beat’ after winning their first state title
No longer the underdog, Clark enters the girls basketball season from a different side.
The Cougars are the team to beat after they toppled two-time defending champion DeSoto in March to win the Class 6A state championship.
“We got the state title, and everyone wants to beat that team,” said senior center Arianna Roberson, the 2022-23 ExpressNews Player of the Year. “We have to stay true to our goals throughout the season and not get distracted by anything and just play Clark basketball.”
It was a massive moment for Clark, which won the program’s first state title, and for San Antonio basketball, which claimed only its second girls basketball crown in UIL’s highest classification.
“Everyone wants to beat us this year,” senior point guard Natalie Huff said. “We have to stay true to ourselves and know what we came from and know that we’re state champs for a reason and just trust what we know.”
Repeating is never easy, but the Cougars return three starters and a letterwinner who played a vital role in last year’s title game.
It starts with Roberson, a 6foot-4 center/forward who averaged 15.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game last season. Roberson was named the Class 6A state-title game MVP after she had 24 points and 15 rebounds in a 42-37 win that ended DeSoto’s two-year reign.
ESPN ranks Roberson No. 19 (and No. 2 in Texas) in its 2024 college recruiting list. Roberson hasn’t committed yet, although she’s reportedly narrowed her choices to Oregon, Southern Cal, Duke, Utah and Connecticut.
Huff returns as the team’s only four-year letterwinner. She averaged 8.0 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game last year.
Huff, who is committed to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, cemented her place in San Antonio high school sports history in last season’s state semifinals with her buzzer-beating 3-pointer that toppled Coppell and the state player of the year Jules LaMendiola, 49-48.
“I still watch it sometimes because that’s the reason we made it to the state game, and that was a very big moment for me,” Huff said.
Senior power forward Kamryn Griffin, who is committed to Central Arkansas, averaged 11.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in her first varsity season with Clark. Griffin played on varsity with Johnson as a freshman and junior varsity with Clark as a sophomore because of transfer rules.
Junior guard Jade Perez served as the Cougars’ backup point guard. She was thrown into the fray in the fourth quarter against DeSoto when Huff injured her ankle. Perez played the entire fourth quarter as the Cougars’ main ball-handler. She didn’t commit a turnover as she helped prevent a DeSoto comeback.
“I learned that I have to be prepared for any situation because anything can happen,” Perez said. “Going through that is something that is life-changing.”
Perez is expected to be the Cougars’ shooting guard, filling the spot left by Ramsey Robledo, who is now at St. Mary’s.
The foursome forms the core of the Cougars’ chances for a repeat.
As talented as Roberson is, Griffin said she brings so much more.
“She just carries it all on the court,” Griffin said of Roberson. “She’s a great teammate, makes sure you are encouraged all the time. She’s there in big moments when we need her. Off the court, she’s a great friend. She makes sure everyone feels included. She’s always has a smile on her face, and she just brings those good vibes.”
Fortune usually factors in a state-title run, and for the Cougars, it occurred with Huff’s game-winner in the state semifinals. That dagger capped a seemingly improbable comeback after the Cougars trailed 47-43 with 15 seconds left.
“She has a lot of trust in herself and her teammates,” Roberson said of Huff. “She’s a point guard, and she gets the ball where it needs to be at all times at the right time, and she did during that shot and it paid off.”
Griffin said Huff ’s experience brings a lot of value.
“She’s been in those situations,” Griffin said. “To have her cool, calm and collected in those big moments helps everyone be cool, calm and collected.”
While it seemed Clark came out of nowhere last season, that’s hardly the case. Clark is 85-8 over the previous three seasons. They’ve had a steady build to the top.
Two seasons ago, the Cougars lost to DeSoto in the Class 6A semifinals, 56-42, after leading midway through the third quarter.
Three seasons ago, Clark lost against Judson 48-45 in the third round in which it surrendered a late lead. Huff scored a teamhigh 16 as a freshman. Judson eventually qualified for the state semifinals for a fifth straight season.
Clark’s biggest challenge now is remaining on top.
“Knowing we have a target on our backs gives us motivation to just continue to stay on top and make sure those teams don’t creep up on us so we can stay number one,” Griffin said.