Fifth-Year Feature: Athena, Clarke Goddess of Basketball – Ubl can, has, and could do it all for the Pride

Over the past five seasons, Clarke University women's basketball has been the model of consistency and growth within the NAIA basketball landscape and there may be no member of the Pride that represents that consistency and growth than fifth-year senior Tina Ubl.

Ubl, whose given first name is Athena, has seen her statistical ranks reach a basketball god-like level as she currently ranks second in scoring (1,828), fifth in rebounds (875), seventh in assists (298), second in steals (256), eighth in blocked shots (74), and fifth in three-point field goals made (138) as the only player in program history to place in the top 10 in all of those categories.

Her ability to do most things on the basketball court well gives off a "master of none" vibe that Ubl credits to her high school basketball coach in Shiocton, Wis. as she prepared to be recruited to play college basketball.

"I think it really helped that in high school my coach always told me that I need to be really good at everything," Ubl said. "That was the message because we thought colleges were looking for recruits that were all-around athletes and basketball players. So I took that role in high school to contribute in a variety of ways."

Similar to other spotlights on CU's fifth-year players, don't let that extra year fool you, she had already placed in each of those top 10s prior to the start of the 2022-23 season as her rankings on those lists have just climbed in this final year of her career given back to her by the COVID-19 altered season of 2020-21.

All of that at the size of 5-11, a typical forward at the NAIA level, Ubl's dribbling and shooting skills that match most guards at her size has given Clarke the ability to fit key pieces around her that best fit other areas of the team.

"[Tina] is so versatile," head coach Courtney Boyd said. "She can stretch the floor, play in the paint, and guard multiple positions if we need it. Each year her role has changed a little whether we needed more rebounding, steals, three-pointers, or putting the ball on the floor attacking the basket, she has always adjusted accordingly."

The underlying factor to being able to accumulate the statistics to rank in the top 10 in a variety of categories is what some coaches call the "best ability" in availability. Ubl reached the most games played in a career for Clarke women's basketball at the tip of their NAIA Round of 16 game against Marian University in last year's NAIA Tournament as the last game of her fourth year at Clarke for a total of 127 games.

Over those four seasons and into this fifth season, Ubl has only missed two games during the 2020-21 season for a total of 153 of a possible 155 games played as of the time of writing with all but four of those games being in the starting lineup, a luxury for a coach that is rare.

"Tina's a gamer, she's competitive, and loves being part of her team's success," Boyd said. "Being able to have her in the starting lineup for five years is pretty unusual, but we're glad she's in our lineup and not in our scouting report."

Being a mainstay in the lineup for five seasons, creates some familiarity between the Shiocton, Wis. native and the Clarke community that expands beyond just the player herself but her family as well.

Tina's parents, Scott and Tracey, are rarely not in attendance at the Kehl Center and even usually the first in the building to watch their daughter play and also two of the many frequent users to comment on, like, or share, the various social media posts not just about Tina but the team as a whole.

"It's awesome that they try to make it to everything that they can, but I know it's a lot," Ubl said. "I think they view everything I do as my last and they don't want to miss that, so it means a lot that I have parents that care so much for me and all of my teammates because they come to watch everyone play, not just me. They've just been big Clarke fans and they always will be."

Connection runs deep for Ubl when it comes to her time at Clarke, being one of the members of Boyd's first full recruiting class in 2018 after the head coach's first season in charge in 2017-18. The player and coach have been able to grow together in their roles to build a connection on and off the court that has allowed both to achieve a high level of success in the past five seasons.

"Tina came in with a mindset that has definitely grown over the past five years," Boyd said. "Her and I have grown, not only on the court but off the court as well. There is a level of confidence that Tina has earned, and her energy and athleticism are definitely going to be difficult to replace."

"When I started in it was her second year so we kind of grew as the program grew," Ubl said. "We've maintained a really good player-to-coach relationship, we have a mutual trust, we know what we are both trying to achieve."

The achievements on the list that haven't been reached by Ubl are dwindling, and she'll be the first to tell you that the only ones left on her list that she cares about are team accomplishments.

With the way the 2022-23 season has been tracking for the player, leading the team with a 12.3 points per game average, grabbing nearly five rebounds per game, and averaging over one assist and one steal per game while maintaining a positive assist-to-turnover ratio, Ubl could be on track for All-Heart First Team selection, which would then put her in the running for an All-America honor, two major honors that she has yet to achieve.

As the No. 8 ranked Pride enter their final week of the regular season, Ubl and her teammates will look to reach postseason heights never before seen at Clarke if they can get to the NAIA Tournament semifinal or beyond.

With all of those accomplishment and accolades in sight, that's not what will be her lasting memories.

"I fell more and more in love with this place and this program over the years," Ubl said. "I found great relationships, friendships, and even great rivalries.

"It's going to be hard to leave."