Pyramid to go British

Junior forward Ella Clark won’t be blowing the candles out at home, but she will be celebrating her 22nd birthday inside a British-themed Walter Pyramid with her sisters.

Following the Saturday game against UC Riverside, the 49ers will be hosting British Night at the ‘Mid to help send Clark and her teammates to the land of Big Ben, Fish and Chips and David Beckham.

“I’m not sure what the whole game entails, but I’m hoping to see a flag that big hanging up in the Pyramid,” Clark said as she looked up at the giant American flag displayed inside the Pyramid.

But while there may or may not be a giant British flag flying in the ‘Mid that night, it will be the closest thing to hoops outside of the states.

For most of the players, it will be the first time they’ve traveled outside of the country.

“Besides Mexico, I haven’t even been out of the country, and that’s always been a dream,” fellow junior Alex Sanchez said. “Being there with my sisters who have so much fun off the court, imagine in a different country.”

While Sanchez joked about the amount of tweets and Instagram posts her and her teammates will be putting up throughout the 10-day trip, she said she’s very much looking forward to meeting and getting to know Clark’s family.

Clark’s parents have both coached and played basketball overseas. Her father is the head coach of the Great Britain senior national team that she was added to in 2013. The 6-foot-8 Clark also has a brother who has been playing professional basketball since he was 14.

“[Clark and I] are pretty close,” Sanchez said. “I bring her to all my family events. I just want to see how her family is back at home. She had to adapt to us, now it’s our time to adapt to her.”

The foreign tour won’t take place until August, but Clark’s teammates have heard plenty regarding how much better England is and they’re ready to see for themselves.

“She always says that London is better and Europe is way better than America,” Sanchez said. “She has to prove her point now.”

Before her team can get a taste of what Great Britain is like, the 49ers will have to see what Great Britain is like here, hosting the same UCR team that they’ll face to closeout the season.

Clark is averaging just over seven points a contest, with 4.3 boards a game and a team-high 27.1 minutes per.  Clark has also led the 49ers in blocks this season with 28 on the year.

“I’m really excited,” she said. “America is really patriotic, and we are really patriotic back home too. It’s going to be a snippet of home here.”