It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.  This famous line to start "A Tale of Two Cities" could be said of the Park University Gilbert women's basketball defense tonight as they Buccaneers fell to the Arizona Christian Firestorm 99-81 at ACU Arena in Glendale, Ariz.

The Buccaneers plan is to play pressure D and play at a high pace to force turnovers.  On that end, the Buccaneers were successful as they forced 30 Firestorm turnovers (the best of times).  But on the other end, if Park Gilbert didn't turn ACU over, the Firestorm shot 52.3 percent from the floor and an incredible 65 percent (13-20) from beyond the arc. They also took advantage of their free throws making 18 of 19 at the charity stripe (the worst of times).

Despite forcing 30 turnovers, Park was only able to convert those turnovers into 27 points. The Bucs also did well on the offensive glass, pulling 17 offensive boards, but were only able to turn those into 18 second chance points. 

Elise Young led Park in scoring for the second straight game, posting 19 points to go along with five rebounds. Macy Markus added 15 points and five steals. Jasmine Kelly just missed a double-double with 14 points and eight rebounds.  She also made three steals.  Destinee Vigil who was not at 100 percent added 10 points off the bench in limited minutes.  Haley Valencia, making her collegiate debut scored seven points.  She was slated to play minimal minutes as she returned from an illness (non-covid related) but ended up playing the fourth highest number of minutes for the team.

As a team, Park shot 37 percent from the floor and only 33 percent from three-point range (8-24).  The Bucs committed 24 turnovers themselves which the Firestorm converted into 25 points. 

It doesn't get any easier for the Buccaneers as they now head on a two game Division I road trip.  Park Gilbert travels to Orem, Utah to face Utah Valley on Tuesday, November 9 at 6 p.m. Then they will make the sojourn to Pocatello, Idaho and one of the top teams in the WAC, Idaho State, on Saturday November 13 at 7 p.m. This game can be seen on ESPN+.