(Surprise, AZ) You win and you’re in. The Park University Gilbert women’s basketball team needed a victory over OUAZ to clinch a postseason berth and they did by defeating the Spirit 93-85 at Faith Arena this evening. The Bucs finish the regular season 14-10 and 8-6 in GSAC play.
The end result of this game was moot midway through the third quarter as Arizona Christian defeated Benedictine Mesa 104-56 which guaranteed a spot in the postseason for the Bucs. This game was now for seeding and with the win the Bucs clinch the third seed in the GSAC and will play The Master’s in the first round of the conference playoffs. Not bad for a team picked to finish last in the conference in the league preseason poll.
The first half saw the Bucs on fire from three-point range to keep them in the game. Patk shot 52 percent in the first half from the floor (70 in the second quarter) and went 7-17 (41 percent) from beyond the arc. But the scoreboard saw the Bucs trailing by three at the half as OUAZ won the rebounding battle 23-13 and knocked down five three pointers themselves.
OUAZ kept the lead through the third quarter but the Bucs don’t win this game with out the contributions of forward Larken Hoar. Hoar scored a career high 20 points on the evening, shooting 7-8 from the floor and 6-7 from three-point range including 4-4 in the third quarter. The six three pointers were also a career high. Park cut the lead by one in the third quarter which set the stage for a record tying quarter.
The last time these two teams met, Park trailed by 20 points entering the fourth quarter and outscored the Spirit 28-12 to come back to take the lead before losing on a buzzer beater. This time they only trailed by one entering the final frame and scored even more in the final frame. The Bucs outscored the Spirit 35-25 in the fourth quarter to win by eight points. The fourth quarter hero in both games was guard Aubry Saleapaga who scored 10 points. The 35 points Park scored in the fourth quarter tied the school record set against Pacific Union on February 3, 2023.
For the game, the Bucs shot 52 percent from the field and 43 percent from long distance. They also made 80 percent of their free throws. The Bucs made 15 three-point shots. This is the ninth time this season the Bucs have made 15 or more three-point baskets in a game. Before this season, the Park Gilbert record for three-point shots in the game was 14.
Individually, Hoar led the team with her career-high 20 points, Saleapaga and Savannah Huerta each had 18 points. Kayla Schroeder had 13 points and Hemani Kalia had 12. Kalia has now scored in double digits in five of her last six games.
Hoar and Alynna Palacios each had six rebounds to lead the team and Palacios led the team with three assists and two steals.
The No. 3 seed Bucs now return to Santa Clarita, Calif., to take on No. 2 seed The Master’s in the semifinals of the GSAC Women’s Basketball Tournament on Friday, February 28. The winner of that game will face the winner of No. 1 Arizona Christian versus No. 4 Hope International on Monday, March 3 at the higher seed location.
Press Release courtesy of Park University Athletics – Preston English
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