The only thing Kirdis Clark has ever tried to be is herself.

It never mattered whether she was with Natchez High School or even a part of the Hinds Community College women’s basketball team, Clark has stuck to her senses.

Recently, Clark committed to taking her talents even further as she signed to continue her career at Alcorn State University.

Her one and only goal as a Lady Brave, Clark said, is to become an even better version of herself.

“It is a different level, and I know I have to continue to step up my game,” she said. “I do want to be one of the top players when I get to Alcorn.”

Clark is no stranger to success, having led the Lady Bulldogs to back-to-back state titles in 2014-15. After moving on to Hinds, she didn’t stop pressing.

“The hardest part was conditioning. After that I fit into the system pretty well,” Clark said. “It was more basketball than I have ever had in my life. We were always practicing.”

Despite the adjustment, Clark found her way to averaging 14 points a game during her freshman year. Hinds finished the season with an appearance in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament for the second straight year.

After accumulating a handful of college credits through Natchez Early College Academy, Clark finished schooling and graduated from Hinds this past May. She said she always knew she wanted to continue playing basketball.

“I knew I wanted to keep going. I knew I had the one year and done,” she said.

Toward the end of the season, however, Clark injured her foot and she said the offers to four-year universities started to dwindle.

“A lot of schools kind of dropped out when they knew I had to have surgery, except Alcorn,” she said. “Alcorn told me they would always be there for me. I just thought it was really sweet because everyone knew I was injured.

“When they said that, I just knew I was going to Alcorn. If they still wanted me when I was injured, there’s no reason I shouldn’t go.”

Clark underwent surgery in March to repair torn ligaments in her right foot. She said since then, she is doing much better.

The former Lady Bulldog standout made her commitment official just a few weeks ago, signing her letter of intent to Alcorn and sending it their way.

For the remainder of the summer before she gets back to conditioning and full-time basketball, Clark said she is planning on focusing on what she is grateful for.

“I know when I get to Alcorn, I’m going to have to work 10 times harder because of my foot,” she said. “But, I’m excited. I’m excited because I always told my mom I didn’t want her to have to pay for me to go to school. Whether it was academic or athletic, I was going to make sure that she didn’t have to pay for me.”