Behind a combined 45 points from Macy Markus and Kayla Schroeder the Park University Gilbert women's basketball team overcame a sluggish first half to beat the University of Saint Katherine by 20, 72-52 at The PHHacility in Phoenix, Ariz.

"We were sleepwalking in the first half," said Buccaneers head coach Jeff Fore. "But we came out and played a really good second half and we have put ourselves in a good position in the conference for the stretch run."

Markus led all scorers with 23 points and Schroeder set a new career high for points with 22 and led the team with seven rebounds.  Schroeder played all 40 minutes in a game for the sixth time this season.

On this senior day, where The Bucs (13-7, 4-1 Cal Pac) honored seniors Destinee Vigil and Allison Hadaway, got off to a good start offensively, shooting 53 percent in the first quarter as they took a two- point lead 18-16. The second quarter was a different story as the Buccaneers only scored 12 points on 33 percent shooting and were outrebounded 12-8 as the Firebirds took a 31-30 into the locker room at halftime.

The first half saw Firebird forward Zeniya Thomas post a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. She shot 5-9 from the floor and made one free throw.  She was single handedly keeping the 'Birds in the game.

Halftime is about adjustments and the Bucs needed to make some on the defensive end to keep Thomas in check.  They did just that as they held her scoreless in the third quarter and only allowed her three shots.  As a matter of fact, the entire Firebirds starting five were held to one point (a free throw) in the third quarter as the Buccaneers broke the game open with a 25-9 third quarter scoring advantage. Valerie Van Dijk scored all eight of her points in the quarter while Markus and Schroeder each had seven points themselves.

With a 15-point advantage, heading into the final quarter, the Buccaneers had some lapses in focus earlier in the season and allowed teams to get back into the game.  This did not happen tonight as the Bucs won the final frame by five, 17-12 for the final 20-point margin of victory.   

Another one of the keys to the Bucs success was the passing and sharing of the basketball on offense as Fore's charges had a season high 24 assists as a team led by the Park Gilbert point guards Jayla Reliford with six and Vigil with five.  Vigil who is nursing a sore ankle, did not play in the second half as the Bucs widened their lead and her services were not necessary to get the win.

Park Gilbert finished shooting 52 percent from the floor, and made seven threes from beyond the arc.  They held USK to 33 percent shooting for the game. 

With the Buccaneers win and an Embry Riddle loss to Westcliff, Park Gilbert has a two game lead in the loss column on the Eagles and sits in the driver's seat to win the Arizona Region of the Cal Pac and earn the automatic berth to the Cal Pac Tournament. The Bucs head to Southern California to take on Antelope Valley (4-15, 1-5) and La Sierra (10-10, 4-3) from the Cal Pac South Division.