By Jeff Preval

While playing in the shadow of her brother Craig “Speedy” Claxton, who was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2000 and now plays for the Golden State Warriors, Stacey-Ann Claxton has left her own legacy as guard of Pride Women’s basketball. Now, the 5-foot-5 guard is ready to end it with a bang. 

When Claxton first became a member of the Pride, she wasn’t quite sure of what was expected of her and was confused about what she wanted to accomplish. 

But with perseverance and determination, Claxton found her way through low times, has made things easier on herself, and while doing so has had quite a career with the Pride. 

One of Claxton’s changes is her growth as a player and a young woman. 

In her freshman year, Claxton went from the bench to starting every game as a senior. In her time with the Pride, Claxton gained qualities like leadership and made her teammates better players.By being the sister of a current professional basketball player, the family ties have kept Claxton on the court.

When she disagreed with Legette-Jack’s playing schemes last year, she wanted to quit. But her brother and father, two important influences in her life, encouraged her to keep playing.  As a result, Claxton kept her head high and accepted the challenge and “the responsibility of taking the point [guard position] and being a leader on the team, but also help [the Pride] be a winner,” Jack said.

Jack said, one of Claxton’s major problems in the past was her being a “talkative leader” on and off the court. As her time with the Pride decreases, the now demanding Claxton is looking toward the future. Claxton said: “If I don’t work hard now then it won’t pay off in the end.”  After playing all 27 games this season – starting 25, leading the Pride in assists (91) and steals (64), picking up All-Defensive team accolades, being named to the All-American team, and being the fourth scorer on her team by averaging 7.9 points per game, it’s safe to say Claxton has worked hard and that it has all paid off. 

Now the senior looks forward to either graduate school or the possibility of going across seas to further her basketball career.