For fans of the Park University Gilbert women's basketball team, things looked bleak at half time.  The Buccaneers trailed by 19 and their opponents Embry Riddle seemingly could not miss.  It looked as though the Bucs would need a second half to remember to have a shot at clinching the Cal Pac Arizona Division title. Not only did the Bucs give fans a second half to remember, they gave them extra basketball for the second time this year against the Eagles.   Behind a career high 37 points from Macy Markus the Buccaneers engineered an 88-83 win to clinch the division title and send them to the Cal Pac Tournament flying high.

"I have been doing this a long time but I think that is the biggest and most important comeback I have ever been a part of," said Bucs head coach Jeff Fore. "After a rough first half we were able to find another gear in the second half. I am really proud of Macy as she got into a mode and just had that refuse to lose mentality."

The first half was all Embry Riddle as the Eagles beat the Bucs like a narc at a biker rally shooting 53 percent from the floor and knocking down nine three-point baskets.  The Buccaneers on the other hand came out sluggish, shooting a paltry 38 percent from the floor and trailed at the half by 19. Marcus had 14 points in the first half but was about to heat up and show why she should be in consideration for Cal Pac Player of the Year,

The third quarter saw a reversal of fortunes as Park Gilbert turned the tables on the beat down, outscoring the Eagles 22-9, making 56 percent of their shots and holding ERAU to 20 percent from the floor and it only made one three-pointer as it looked as though the Eagles shooters legs were getting tired. Their shots came up short and those misses allowed the Bucs to cut the deficit to six headed into the final quarter.

Park Gilbert did not let up as not only did they tie the score at 62-all with 7:26 to go, they took the lead 67-64 on a Markus three-pointer at the 5:19 mark.  This started a back and forth of exchanging the lead six times over the next four minutes of game time.  The Buccaneers to a 73-72 lead with 1:25 to go and would never trail again.  But this did not mean they would not be tied again. The Bucs had a two-point lead with 4.6 second to go.  Kayla Schroeder who is a 71 percent free throw shooter was fouled and sent to the line with a chance to ice the game away.  She missed both free throws, but a fortuitous bounce gave the Bucs the ball out of bounds. They got the ball in but threw it away to give Embry Riddle life with 2.4 seconds to go.  The ending to this game almost mirrored the end of the game these teams played in Phoenix back on February 2. In that game, Hayley Valencia made a shot with time running down to tie the game and send it to overtime.  This time it was ERAU's turn, as Hannah Urbano made a running floater along the baseline as time expired to send this contest to overtime tied at 78.

Overtime saw both teams miss shots early before Valerie Van Dijk grabbed an offensive rebound off of a Valencia miss and lay it in to start the scoring and this time, the Bucs would not look back.  Valencia made a free throw and a jumper to give the Bucs a 5-0 run and a five-point lead with 94 seconds remaining.  Then it became a free throw shooting contest. Both teams made five free throws down the stretch and the Bucs finished with a five-point margin of victory 88-83.

Markus' 37-point game is the seventh 30-point game in school history and the first 30-point game by someone other than Elise Young. The 37 points is the second most number of points in a game only behind the 39 scored by Young against Chandler Gilbert CC in 2019. This is the most points against an NAIA opponent in school history besting Young's 35 against Westcliff in January of 2020. Markus also had three rebounds and two assists.    

Not to be overshadowed, freshman Schroeder and Valencia each posted double-doubles. Schroeder contributed 19 points and 12 rebounds  for her second double-double in as many weeks.  Valencia also had 15 points to go along with 11 rebounds and six assists which gave the Albuquerque, N.M., native her third double-double this season.

Markus, Schroeder and Valencia all played more than 40 minutes and Reliford played 38 including all of the key minutes down the stretch as Destinee Vigil is still nursing an ankle injury which is limiting her minutes.

One of the Buccaneers biggest issues this season has been turnovers.  The Buccaneers have averaged 21 turnovers a game this season and 18 per in the conference.  In the last two games the Bucs have only turned the ball over 17 times total (8 vs. BENU and 9 vs. ERAU).  The Buccaneers will be hard to beat if they continue to value the basketball at this pace. 

The Buccaneers now will wait and see what seed they will receive for the Cal Pac Tournament. The Buccaneers have one more loss than Westcliff, but beat the Warriors head-to-head and their loss to La Sierra who has the same number of losses can be attributed to playing the game shorthanded due to health and safety protocols.  If the Buccaneers can earn the number two seed, they would only have to win one game to reach the championship and clinch an NAIA tournament berth. If they are a three seed or lower, they would need to win two games to earn the berth.