Myia Clark's 'contagious energy' has Evansville women's basketball on the rise

EVANSVILLE — Myia Clark trailed in and received the ball. The University of Evansville women’s basketball team was on a run, with the potential to put the game out of Indiana State’s reach. Clark had been there. It was already her game, now she wanted to share it.

A lane opened. A defender came.

“OK, should I pass it or not?” Clark asked herself. “I don’t know if my coaches were gonna get at me if I turned the ball over.”

She decided to pass, but not without making it one for the camera. Barbora Tomancova was open, just feet away. Before Clark threw her the ball, she looked left but might as well have had eyes closed.

No-look toss. On a dime. Bucket.

Clark opened her mouth and shook her head in celebration.

Timeout Sycamores.

“It was a risk that I took,” Clark said, “and it ended up working.”

UE women's basketball: Purple Aces taking it 'a game at a time' as MVC play continues

That was one play, the highlight moment, in the Purple Aces' 65-54 home win Wednesday over Indiana State, but far from Clark’s only involvement. The fifth-year senior has done it all for UE since transferring from Saint Louis prior to last season. This performance was just another example of that, with a team-high 17 points and six assists in the win.

“I thought that was a good, balanced game from her,” coach Robyn Scherr-Wells said. “When she has good energy like that, our team feeds off of it. I just think she’s growing a lot in her leadership and a lot of the small things as well.”

Clark provides scoring on all three levels. That’s part of why Scherr-Wells, who has watched Clark since she was in high school and when she was on Dayton’s staff in the Atlantic 10, wanted to bring her to Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

“I also felt her best basketball was still ahead of her,” Scherr-Wells said.

Clark on Scherr-Wells: “She was everything that I was looking for”

When Clark entered the transfer portal, she knew what she wanted from a new program.

“I was looking for the family environment,” she said. “A mom away from home.”

When Scherr-Wells recruited her, that’s what Clark felt she found. She wanted a place she could play as long as she could, continuing to be involved in the game she loves while also finding that “mom away from home.” That’s what she found at UE.

“When I talked to Coach Robyn, she was everything that I was looking for,” Clark said. “She’s been there for me a lot and she’s always shown her support for me, and that’s exactly what I needed.

“So, we’re here.”

Arriving as a senior, Clark knew her fifth year of eligibility was an option. In her mind, there was no question she was taking it. That extra year was one of the first things she told Scherr-Wells — “I told her that I wanted to play (senior) year and I wanted to play the next year, as well,” Clark said.

“Using the opportunity as much as I can,” Clark said. “College basketball eventually ends, and if I have one more opportunity to play, I’m gonna take it.”

Clark staying is a big reason for UE’s success this season. She averages 12.6 points per game with nine games in double figures. Her 3-point percentage is up nearly 20% from her first season at UE and her leadership has only grown.

That improvement was perhaps best shown by her 3-pointer against Southeast Missouri State on Dec. 18. It wasn’t Clark’s best performance, but it capped a career accomplishment she had worked towards her entire career, one she “had no idea that was even going to happen” until she saw her face appear on the board, she said with a bright smile.

The corner three marked her 1,000th career point, a testament to the work she put in at Saint Louis and her two years at UE.

“College, it’s pretty tough because everybody’s talented,” Clark said. “I think for me getting to that point through all the adversity that I have been through, I think that it’s a crazy milestone.

“To finish out this year, I’m gonna keep pushing for more and more and keep being aggressive.”

Still, Scherr-Wells has seen Clark continue to get better as the season has progressed. Indiana State was another bright showing, her fourth game with at least 11 points in the past five. Those are the players a rebuilding program needs, and Clark has been instrumental in that.

“I think a lot of her mark will also depend on how we do the remainder of the season,” Scherr-Wells said. “Her being good also helps our team be great, as well. Part of her legacy will be, ‘Will we continue to grow and get more wins down the road as a program this season?’

“I believe we will and I believe she’s a big part of that.”

Clark: ‘It goes by quicker than you know’

Clark wasn’t the only reason for UE’s win against Indiana State. Kynidi Mason Striverson scored 13 points off the bench and Tomancova had a 12-and-12 double-double. But Clark was at the center of it.

Her 36 minutes only trailed Anna Newman’s 37 for a team-high. Her plus-minus was 10 points, only behind Mason Striverson’s 19. Her 12.6-point average only trails Abby Feit on the Aces’ scoring charts.

All of that resulted in UE’s second conference win of the season, already matching the total of a year ago. The Aces are only one win away from matching last season, as well.

At times, the Sycamores looked like they could have gotten back into it, particularly when they cut the Aces’ lead to two points. But UE responded and Clark delivered as she has most of the season. Her two steals were crucial down the stretch.

“When teams are building, they have to learn to win those games. Sometimes that takes time,” Scherr-Wells said. “That gives our team confidence. They are learning how to win and that’s going to springboard us forward.”

“I’ve seen a lot of growth, especially when it comes to us being in games,” Clark added. “We’ve grown a lot from the last few years. … What I saw (against Indiana State) was just a whole new, different team and we kept pushing.”

As for Clark, she’s “obviously a part of that” growth, Scherr-Wells said.

“It’s not just her scoring,” Scherr-Wells said. “It is her energy, it is her leadership, it is her tenacity and her confidence.”

That energy Scherr-Wells talked about? It’s “contagious,” Mason Striverson said. Her leadership is part of what has UE on the cusp of matching last season — its best in five years — with at least 16 games remaining.

“She’s just always getting hyped and just bringing that energy that we need in different spurts of the game,” Mason Striverson said. “Just being able to play with her and learn from her is something that I’ll cherish forever.”

The “contagious” energy is something Clark mentioned, too. She wants to leave that mark. As she continues her final season in college basketball, that’s part of what Clark wants to be remembered for.

The success is coming in Year 5 for Clark in her second year at UE. It’s come throughout her college career.

“This comes and goes. It goes by quicker than you know,” Clark said. “It’s kind of taking the opportunity as it is. No matter what, just work hard, bring energy and honestly everything else will come.”

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: UE women's basketball senior Myia Clark has 'contagious energy'