Via: mdcthereporter/Aiyana Ishmael
Savannah Clark has been a quiet storm this season for the Lady Sharks.
The soft-spoken sophomore is leading the team in scoring, averaging 18.4 points and grabbing six rebounds per game. Clark has scored in double figures in five games this year, including a 33 point game versus Hillsborough Community College.
"Savannah is quiet and focuses on getting it done in the classroom and on the court," Lady Sharks head basketball coach Susan Summons said. "She is a little more vocal off the court this year because she wants to be a better leader for the team."
Clark is originally from Maywood, Illinois where she attended Proviso East High School. The 6-foot-tall forward played varsity basketball all four years there, averaging 8.7 ppg and 3.5 rpg in 98 games.
As a child, Clark never ventured into any sports. Instead, her mother placed her in dance with her older sister, Sarah Clark. Clark couldn't recall the style of dance she participated in, but she remembers all the decorative costumes from recitals.
Clark started playing basketball after making the team in the sixth grade. Why she tried out is ironic.
"My older sister was trying out for the basketball team and I was trying to be like her so I tried out too," Clark said. "I ended up making the team and she didn't."
From the beginning of her basketball career, Clark had a natural feel for the game, so she began to hone her skills.
"We recruited Savannah Clark out of Chicago from a dear, dear friend and spiritual brother, Hank Hicks, a high school coach at national powerhouse Whitney Young Magnet High School," Summons said. "I watched video footage and saw the tremendous potential and knew she would be a good fit in our system. I knew we could help take her to the next level."
Although Clark is seen as timid by most of her teammates, they also see the dominance she displays when she plays basketball.
"On the court she's a quiet beast. You don't know what she's doing until she does it," sophomore forward Cheal Rael-Whitsitt said. "She's quick, not just fast. There is a difference."
Clark and Cheah Rael-Whitsitt, who are roommates, form a formidable duo. Rael-Whitsitt is currently averaging 13.1 ppg and 8.4 rpg.
Besides basketball, Clark isn't interested in many other pastimes apart from hanging out with her teammates. Off the court she is a homebody who prefers to stay in and sleep or watch movies with her teammates.
After finishing her career at Miami Dade College, Clark hopes to continue playing basketball at a Division I school and earning her degree. She is currently majoring in criminal justice and wants to eventually work her way up to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, working in the Special Victims Unit.
"I want to go DI and see where that leads me, either the WNBA or overseas," Clark said. "But if not I'll pursue my dreams of becoming a detective."