In the nearly four decades that Gateway High has been open, it hasn’t established a reputation of having a strong girls basketball program — you can nearly count the number of winning seasons on one hand.
So it says something about what Coach Justin Marino has established in four years leading the Panthers. They’ve made back-to-back regional playoff runs — they were seconds from reaching the Class 5A Final Four two months ago.
GHS can thank senior point guard Neri Moreau and junior shooting guard Vanessa Diaz for leading the team that far.
While Gateway has had talented players in the past, they’ve never had the best two players in the county. Moreau and Diaz are this season’s Osceola News-Gazette Girls Basketball Co-Players of the Year.
Moreau, in her fourth varsity season, set the table for the Panthers’ offense. Then on defense, she locked down opponents, turning steals into instant offense at the other end. In fact, she recorded a triple-double thanks to her defense (13 steals to go with 15 points and 11 assists) in a January win over Osceola.
Her season stat line: 9.4 points, 5.8 assists, 4.3 steals and 4.1 rebounds per game.
Marino coached Moreau, who plays bigger than her 5’3” frame, at Neptune Middle School before taking the Gateway job, mostly due to the potential.
“She wanted to build something here, and we did it together,” Marino said. “If not, it wouldn’t have set the path we’ve started here. She’s a super competitor.
“She’s got God-given talent for this. There’d be times I’d call a set, then she’d change it on the fly based on what she saw. Sometimes it didn’t work, but sometimes you let her go create with players she’s been playing with for years.”
Moreau said Thursday, right after signing to play collegiately for Division II University of Tampa in the Sunshine State Conference, and enter it’s competitive nursing program, that she looks back on her Panther career … and blinks a little.
“I’m so proud that I’ve made it this far, especially with all the ‘but’s’ about my height,” she said. “During my sophomore year, I realized I could play this at, say, a college level, and I wanted to. There hasn’t been a summer day I wasn’t in this gym since then.”
Marino called Diaz “one of the favorite players I’ve ever coached.”
“Practice would be dead without her, she’s bringing the energy, taking charges in practice, getting everybody amped up,” he said. “In a game, she doesn’t shy away from the biggest moments.”
The 5’5” shooter led the team averaging 17 points per game, including nine games with 20 or more. She hit on 40 percent of her three-point shots this year. She’s scored over 1,500 career points, and could reach the 2,000-point plateau, rare for a four-year county player, next year.
“Her scoring is actually down from the last two years, but we have more pieces around her,” Marino said. “Her rebounds (4.3) and assists (2.6) are up (as well as her steals at 2.2 per game).”
Diaz said her defense has gotten remarkably better, through hard work.
“During my freshman year, Marino said we had to play zone because I couldn’t defend one-on-one, so I worked that whole summer on that. There’s something about doing something people say you can’t do,” she said. “Everyone now knows I can shoot. Now I focus on the little things, like getting a steal.”
While she’s willing to reflect on her junior year, when the Panthers romped to a 22-8 record and the regional final — which they led with 15 seconds to go at Bishop Moore — Diaz is already excited about having a slightly new role in her senior year.
“We did so many new things this year. Making it to regionals is one thing, but we had a say in who went to state, if it wasn’t us,” she said. “Next year, I won’t be the only shooter, if I have to play Neri’s spot and not get as many shots up. My goal is to get better at ballhandling, to create for everyone, not just myself. I can’t be Neri, she’s different, but I can take what I learned from her and make everybody around me better.”
Gateway sophomore Malayna Stevenson (14 points, 5 rebounds per game) joins them on the All-County team. The 5-10 center/forward provides a post presence who can also get to the basket with the ball.
The News-Gazette All-County Team also includes:
Poinciana — Samara Calso (Sr., 10.3 points, 3.7 steals per game), Ivanis Pimentel (Sr., 9 points, 9.5 rebounds); St. Cloud — Emily Lockey (Jr., 15 ppg, 4.8 rpg), Danigzy Mantilla (Soph., 9.5 points, 4 assists); Harmony — Aurielle Reavis (Soph., 10.7 points); Osceola — Emily Gonzalez (Sr.); City of Life — Karyna Rivera (Soph., 19 points).
