University of Minnesota Athletics
La Toya Clarke Selected to Canadian Under 22 Team
8/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
The team was selected after a week-long NIKE Under 22 women's hockey development camp in Toronto. Of the 23 players selected, four players are veterans of Canada's National Women's Team, including 2002 Winter Olympic gold medallists Cherie Piper and Charline Labonte'. Clarke is the first Golden Gopher to earn a spot on a Canadian National Team.
"I'm really happy for La Toya, because she's been shooting for team," said Minnesota head coach Laura Halldorson. "It's a huge accomplishment for her and says a lot for how hard she has worked."
"The NIKE Under 22 development camp this week was one of the best I have seen, which shows how far the female game has come over the past few years, said Hughes. "We are confident that we have a good mixture of talented players going to Lake Placid that will represent their country."
Clarke ended her sophomore year with 42 points, placing her third on the team in scoring. In 38 games played, Clarke had a plus-40 and scored four game-winning goals for the Golden Gophers. Clarke was named to the WCHA Final Five All-Tournament team, producing four points in two games Clarke scored three points in the semifinals against Ohio State and set up the game-winning goal in the WCHA Championship game. During the 2001-02 campaign, Clarke had 11 multiple-point games, five of which came during her six-game scoring streak.
As a rookie, Clarke led the Gophers with 53 points on 21 goals and 32 assists. She ranked fifth in the conference in scoring, third in freshman scoring and fourth in assists and power-play goals (11). Clarke was named the conference rookie of the week twice and capped off her season with second-team All-WCHA accord.
