Nov. 3, 2011
Everything seemed to be aligned. She had earned Freshmen All-SEC honors the year before and she would be able to spend another season improving in the shadows of a veteran senior class. Tiffany Clarke appeared destined for a big season in 2011.
Only it never came.
She started five of the first seven games of the season, but never seemed to get on track, often due to foul trouble. After playing eight minutes in a start at Denver, Clarke lost her starting job and would play no more than 13 minutes in the next 13 games.
“If we voted for the Practice Player of the Year in the SEC, it would have been Tiffany,” Head Coach Melanie Balcomb said. “She really elevated her consistency in practice and performed very well every day, but then it didn’t always carry over to games. She was very inconsistent.”
Suddenly, any expectations for a breakout season were dashed.
But Clarke never stopped working even though her minutes had been slashed and any momentum she had from the end of her freshman season when she started the last five games was long gone.
After the Commodores had lost two of three games at Tennessee and then at Kentucky, Clarke was given another opportunity to start at home against Ole Miss on Jan. 30. And she was not about to let a second chance escape her.
Clarke made 5-of-6 shots to finish with 10 points and seven rebounds in Vanderbilt’s 71-42 win. No one knew it at the time, but that game against Ole Miss would only be the beginning of what was a dominant performance to close to the season.
Including the Ole Miss game, Clarke remained in the starting lineup the final 12 games of the season and averaged 13.3 points and 9.0 rebounds during that time. It came after she was averaging just 4.6 points before the Ole Miss game.
“I think Tiff came into her own at the end of last season,” Balcomb said. “She brought it every night and everybody was impressed by her performance. It built her confidence.”
The Duluth, Ga., native also posted four double-doubles and scored 20-plus points four times over the course of the team’s final 10 games. In back-to-back games at Mississippi State and at home against Kentucky, Clarke became the first Commodore with consecutive games of 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds since Jenni Benningfield in 2003.
Clarke’s strong play continued into the postseason. During the SEC Tournament, Clarke averaged 20.5 points and 13.0 rebounds in two games and was named to the SEC All-Tournament Team. She was the only selection from a team that did not play in the championship game.
Finally what many Commodore fans had expected from Clarke at the beginning of the year was happening, but the season was nearly over.
Now entering her junior year, Clarke is focused on continuing the momentum from the end of last season and wants to keep last year’s slow start in the rearview mirror.
“Consistency is definitely one of my goals this year,” Clarke said. “I want to bring the game I had at the end of last year to the beginning of this year and have it grow throughout the season.”
Clarke believes some of last season’s struggles were due to her thinking too much about what she needed to do or did not do well instead of just reacting.
“I just need to focus on one thing at a time, and not overthink and the rest will follow,” Clarke commented.
Clarke’s ability to play at a high level from start to finish will be important to Vanderbilt’s success this season. The roster includes just 11 players and only Clarke and center Stephanie Holzer played significant minutes in the frontcourt last season.
Other contributors to Vanderbilt’s interior play will be senior Jordan Coleman, redshirt freshman Clair Watkins and junior Elan Brown, who can play either guard or forward.
“If we can get Tiffany to continue her development and just keep moving forward, I think she will be really tough,” Balcomb said. “I think there is so much she can do physically, athletically for us, but she also has a great intelligence for the game as well.”
So far in practice, Clarke has picked up where she left off last season — a good sign for the Commodores as they prepare to open their regular season on Nov. 11 against Alabama A&M.
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