PALM BEACH GARDENS — Basketball season is no stranger to the Cinderella storyline, and this winter, the hardwood has set the scene for the tale of Palm Beach Gardens girls basketball.
Under the new direction of assistant turned head coach Jessica Salero, Gardens spun a new narrative in 2023 from the team that went 7-11 the prior season.
The Gators are 12-8 and 21st in Class 7A, but they’re fourth in Region 2 and a contender for a district championship, narrowly trailing a weaker scheduled Centennial, Gardens’ three-seed region competitor.
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“We like playing the underdog role,” Salero said. ”We just try to focus on getting better every day and working towards the postseason.”
Three point-to-point quarters in the girls’ senior night win against Suncoast, 69-55, and the forces of sophomore Philleah Bright signaled there’s still work to be done for Gardens to get to Lakeland. Especially with squads like No. 1 Dr. Phillips and Oak Ridge out of Orlando in the same region.
“It’s all about who peaks at the right time,” Salero said. ”I’m proud of them for what they did this season. I’ve got a good group here.”
The Gators have seen quite the turnaround from the 2022 season, thanks to the addition of senior Cienna Thigpen and a breakout season for junior Kyana Poitier, both team captains.
The ‘glue’ that holds the Gators together
Thigpen, a 5-foot-4 guard, played for two years on varsity at Palm Beach Lakes before transferring to rival Gardens for her last season.
That move has seen Thigpen blossom into a college prospect, getting looks from such schools as St. Pete for her impact as a top scorer for the Gators, averaging 20 points per game.
Thigpen also ranks ninth in the state at the free throw line with 105 successful shots and a 61% completion rate.
“She was a pleasant surprise,” Salero said, not expecting to host Thigpen on the roster when she took the helm before the season.
“It was probably the easiest transition we’ve had. She just fit right in with the team,” Salero said.
Salero finds Thigpen’s impact to be just as great off the scoreboard, calling her a great leader.
”She’s really the glue for the team that holds everything together,” Salero said.
Perks of having a nation-leading rebounder
Similarly to Thigpen, all it took was a season for Poitier’s stat lines to double.
True, Poitier had been a leading rebounder for Gardens since her freshman year when she nearly matched the production of the roster-leading senior, averaging about nine rebounds per game.
“The fact that she doesn’t get much attention is wild to me,” Salero said.
But the Gators have seen Poitier embody a new sense of confidence on the court. That belief catapulted her to 15.8 rebounds per game — a stat that positions Poitier with the 19th-best average in the nation.
“We just keep encouraging her because she doesn’t even know how good she is a lot of the time,” Salero said.
Through 20 games, Poiter has tallied 149 defensive rebounds and 167 offensive rebounds, her physical return at the net supported by a 5-foot-11 frame and being a multisport athlete who also plays volleyball, flag football, and track and field.
“She’s definitely flying under the radar — going to have a big senior year next year,” Salero said.
“Great kid on and off the floor. Just a difference-maker, even when it comes to things that don’t appear in the stat sheet.”
Gardens will open its district tournament slate on Jan. 31 against Jupiter.
Emilee Smarr is the high school sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. She can be reached at esmarr@gannett.com.