The first game is in the books and the Park University Gilbert Women's Basketball team got their first win of the 2020-21 season and in the process gave head coach Jeff Fore his 300th career win including wins on all levels.
"I am not about the milestones and accolades," said Fore. "I am about the players and the people I get to build relationships with on a daily basis."
On the floor, the Buccaneers came out a little sluggish, falling behind 11-3 before erupting on a 20-0 run to take a 23-11 lead and never looking back. Junior college transfer Destinee Vigil took over the game in the first half, scoring 15 points and dishing out 3 assists to lead the Bucs to a 13-point halftime lead. Anna Laux added eight of her team leading 17 points off the bench in the first half. Senior Marlene Salazar corralled nine of her team leading 12 boards in the first half as well.
The second half saw the Bucs break the game open in the third quarter, scoring 28 points to make the fourth quarter and afterthought. In addition to Laux's 17 and Vigil's 15, two other Bucs scored in double digits, Elise Young who averaged 23 points a game last year, was in foul trouble all game, fouling out in the third quarter, but she still managed to score 10 points in 17 minutes of action and continue her streak of scoring in double digits in every game in her career (now at 27). Sophomore Daniela Bernal added 10-points as well for herthird career double digit scoring game.. Twelve Bucs took the floor tonight and 11 of them found the scoreboard.
The Buccaneers shot 48 percent from the floor and 43 percent from beyond the arc. The only shooting percentage you could say they could be disappointed in was first half free throw shooting where they were 10-19 (.56%). In the second half, the Bucs rectified the issue, making 14 of 18 shots (78 percent) from the charity stripe.
One of Park Gilbert's biggest issues last year was turnovers and not enough sharing of the basketball to see results in the assists category. While there can still be improvement in terms of turnovers (20), they cut down on the number of miscues from the first to the second half (12 to 8). In terms of assists, the Bucs shared the ball well to the tune of 17 dimes, led by Salazar who had four followed by Laux, Vigil and senior Allison Hadaway with three. Hadaway also added eight points in her debut in a Bucs uniform.
"Even in a game like this, there are many things we can take away and improve upon," said Fore. "We need to get better defensively with the competition we have coming up or we could be in for some long nights."
Up next, Park Gilbert continues their road journey, travelling to California to take on Bethesda (Calif.) and No. 5 The Master's University. The Buccaneers won 63-58 at Bethesda last year and this will be their first meeting with The Master's who is perennially one of the best teams in the country.
