Jill Clark remembers the game like it was yesterday. 

She and her Ardmore teammates were tied in the waning seconds against DAR in the regional finals, and with a trip to sub-state on the line, Clark took the ball with 8 seconds left and drove the lane. 

By the time the final buzzer had sounded, Clark had scored a career-high 41 points to propel the Tigers to a 78-76 victory. 

“That is the one high school memory that I will never forget,” said the 2025 Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame inductee. “Playing on the road at DAR was always tough and that game was no different. They were ranked third in the state when we played them. As a kid growing up, it is a basketball player’s dream to hit a shot at the buzzer to win a championship.  And then to see all of our parents and fans storm the court celebrating was something that will forever be stretched in my memory.”

Clark’s performance at DAR was one of her many highlights as a three-sport star at Ardmore, where she was a multi-year starter in basketball, softball and volleyball.

 She averaged over 20 points per game during her last three years playing basketball. During her senior season, Clark averaged 21.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game while leading the Tigers to a 23-7 record. She was named to the Class 3A All-State team and was a USA Today Honorable Mention All-American selection.  She was an All-Area and All-County selection in both softball and volleyball. 

She was also the center fielder for the softball team that won the 1993 state championship. 

“I had great teammates throughout high school,” said Clark. “We were close. A lot of us played fast-pitch softball in the summer together. The Ardmore community was great. They really supported us. I enjoyed playing for Coach (Mike) Jackson. He is a great person and pushed us girls to be the very best we could be.”

Jackson says that Clark was an intense competitor. 

“Jill simply didn’t like to lose. I coached her in basketball and softball. In basketball, she made it tough for our opponents to get the basketball past mid-court. She scored a lot of her points on layups because she had so many steals in the backcourt. I could play her anywhere on the softball field. She was that good of a softball player. She was a really good player in all the sports she participated in at Ardmore,” said Jackson. 

A highly recruited athlete, Clark had 26 college basketball scholarship offers but wanted to stay close to home and chose Martin Methodist College to continue her basketball career. 

“My goal was always to play Division 1 basketball. I attended Coach Pat Summitt’s basketball camps at the University of Tennessee during the summers in high school and made some all-camp teams. Attending those camps inspired me to work hard and hopefully one day earn an opportunity to play collegiately at the highest level. Martin Methodist was a junior college when I graduated from high school and only about 30 minutes from home. I felt like that pathway was best for me to achieve my goal. If I could improve my skills during my two years there, I might earn the scholarship I was hoping for. Everything was going well during my freshman year, but unfortunately, I broke my ankle during the preseason and took a redshirt year. I decided to then change my athletic focus back to softball. I transferred to Calhoun Community College and played softball. I am glad I did because it allowed me to reunite with some of my high school teammates who were on the softball team. It was a great experience and we won a lot of games in softball while I was at Calhoun,” said Clark. 

Clark says that being inducted into the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame is an unbelievable honor. 

“I was blessed to have so many wonderful teammates and coaches in high school. Plus, I had wonderful parents who encouraged and supported me throughout my career. Ardmore is a great community and I am proud to call Ardmore home. It is where my children go to school, so this honor is extra special on so many different levels. It has been over 30 years since I wore the Ardmore High School jersey, but I get to represent my alma mater one more time as the second Ardmore High School female athlete to be inducted into the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame. I am so thankful and blessed to receive this honor,” said Clark.