Clara Strack has really grown on the basketball court.

Literally.

“There’s some people that when I played basketball when I was younger were the same height or they were taller than me and now they’re done growing and now I’m just tall,” Strack said.

The Hamburg senior now stands 6’3”.

Height is definitely hereditary, with her mom 6 feet tall and Clara eye-to-eye with her dad also at 6’3”.

“I think he likes it,” Strack said with a smile. “Growing up, when I was getting close to his height, we would always compare and he’d be like no, you can’t be taller than me, but now it’s just whatever.”

As you would imagine, it’s rare for Strack to match-up against players her own size, especially here in Western New York.

While that leads to a lot of advantages underneath, it also opens the door for the Bulldog big to expand her overall game.

“I like playing against taller people better because it’s more of an even matchup,” Strack explained. “When I play here, it challenges me more to step outside, use my ball-handling against these smaller girls who it’s easier for them to take the ball away from me when I ball-handle. So I think it holds it’s own advantages and things that can help me improve in different areas of my game.”

Strack’s game has shown enough already to earn a scholarship to play at Virginia Tech.

“I always knew I wanted to play Power 5 and when I started getting into my Power 5 offers, it was really a great feeling for me because I felt like I accomplished so much,” Strack said.

She finishing her Hamburg career in style, averaging 24.1 points per game, 15.8 rebounds per game, 3.5 blocks per game, and 2.3 steals per game.

And just a few weeks ago she became the school’s all-time leading scorer, reaching 1,384 career points and counting.

“I’ve always wanted to do my best here and leave my mark and be a name here, but I probably never really thought about it until I started hearing that I was close to it,” Strack said. “But it’s really a great accomplishment to me.”

An accomplishment that matches her height – above the rest.