Last offseason, the departures of head coach Ashley Langford, guards Gigi Gonzalez and Victoria Keenan, forward Sherese Pittman and center Khari Clark shaped the narrative. However, amidst these losses, one player’s decision to return to the Stony Brook women’s basketball team has proven to be a game-changer, benefitting both the asset and program significantly.

Guard Zaida Gonzalez played a crucial yet often underrated role on last year’s Seawolves, one of the most successful teams in program history. She started all 33 games for Stony Brook, helping the team to a 28-5 record and pushing them to the brink of a second NCAA Tournament appearance, falling just one contest short.

“I came in, after discussions with [Langford], knowing that it would be a very special team,” Gonzalez said in an interview with The Statesman. “I was so happy to be a part of that. I knew that I had to prove myself and show my capabilities to show that, amongst this successful team, I could be a big part of that success.”

Despite the aforementioned exits and uncertainty surrounding the Seawolves’ position in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), just one campaign after capturing the conference’s regular season title, Gonzalez chose to stay.

“I really did fall in love with the program here,” Gonzalez said. “Aside from our coaches, we have a great support staff, an amazing Athletic Director and other staff who really support women’s basketball in general.”

Although Stony Brook, who sports a 11-11 overall and 6-5 CAA record, currently sits where opposing conference coaches predicted it would be in the league standings — ninth — that position would be undoubtedly lower without Gonzalez’s contributions.

The senior is having the best season of her collegiate career, which comes as no surprise, considering she is also playing with more freedom than ever before in her journey, spearheading the Seawolves’ new era.

“This season has been a lot of growth for us,” Gonzalez said. “A lot of learning lessons. We knew it was going to be a challenge because we’ve had new pieces on the team that didn’t play last year. And we have a whole new coaching staff. We hit a lot of adversity, we’ve dealt with injuries. We took some hard losses. But from every loss, we have learned from it.”

Gonzalez’s numbers have seen a remarkable rise from the 2023-24 campaign to now. She is +8.9 (8.0 to 16.9) in points and +1.9 (2.9 to 4.8) in rebounds per game through 21 contests. Gonzalez ranks second in the league in scoring.

Stony Brook’s newest star has a signature game under her belt, too. Facing Charleston, who came into the affair undefeated in CAA play, Gonzalez posted career-highs in points (37) and rebounds (10), marking her first collegiate double-double.

As the driving force behind an improbable win, 27 of her 37 points came in the fourth quarter and overtime, propelling the Seawolves to victory. Stony Brook was down by eight with just 37 seconds left in regulation, but Gonzalez scored nine points down the stretch to send the contest into overtime.

“It was probably the best game of my career,” Gonzalez said. “Whenever we play against the highest level of competition, whenever we play against really good teams, is when I feel I play up to that standard, to that level.”

What makes Gonzalez’s ascent even more impressive is that her debut into competitive basketball was in high school. Growing up in West Palm Beach, Fla., Gonzalez’s rise to basketball eminence was shaped by her own creation.

“I actually didn’t start playing organized basketball until high school,” Gonzalez said. “I didn’t play AAU when I was younger, I usually just played basketball during PE class. I would play outside; my dad got a hoop for me and my sister. It was just playing for fun but I knew I loved the sport.”

Gonzalez also played alongside neighborhood friends and classmates, many of whom were older boys, which helped her develop the skills that fueled a standout high school career. She competed on the Palm Beach Lakes Community High School’s varsity team all four years of high school, surpassing 1,000 career points and earning First Team All-Conference, First Team All-County PBC Hoops, Palm Beach Post Second Team All-County Select and Second Team All-County honors.

“Everyday in PE I would play against boys,” Gonzalez said. “I got used to playing against them all the time. When it was time to play against girls who were my age, it came easier. It’s much different playing against guys, who are much more athletic, much bigger than you. That definitely prepared me in ways that I could have never imagined.”

After her freshman season, Gonzalez began playing AAU basketball, stepping up to a higher level of competition than what she faced in high school. She initially played for a local team, the Wellington Wolves, before joining FGB, one of Florida’s top travel teams, following her sophomore year. With FGB, she was introduced to the Under Armour circuit. 

Gonzalez’s two years with FGB played a pivotal role in her recruitment process. After her first year of high school, she received her first recruitment call from Florida International University (FIU). However, it was during her time with the premier travel team that Gonzalez attracted significant interest from colleges.

Amidst a recruitment process she refers to as “skewed” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gonzalez picked FIU.

“Coaches were watching us through a camera [because they] couldn’t be there in person,” Gonzalez said. “We weren’t allowed to go on official visits. I ultimately chose FIU because I built a good relationship with the coaching staff. My parents built a great relationship with the coaching staff. My parents also loved it because it was close to home. I was running out of time at that point, [and] I wanted to be part of early signing.”

Gonzalez had an up-and-down two seasons with the Panthers. As a freshman, she quickly established herself as a reliable starter, averaging 5.4 points and 1.9 rebounds over 31 games. However, her sophomore year saw limited progress on a middle-of-the-pack FIU team in Conference USA, despite a stint with the Puerto Rico national team prior to the season. She posted 5.2 points and 2.7 rebounds across 33 games, with just 13 starts, while her shooting splits went from .371/.273/.653 to .375/.217/.738, which arguably can be considered a regression. This lack of improvement led to her decision to enter the transfer portal.

“I came into my sophomore season expecting for more,” Gonzalez said. “For better stats, for everything to improve. Before my sophomore season, I played for the Puerto Rico national team. Being able to play with professional players, seeing the higher level, I was coming into the season thinking, ‘This is going to be so much easier for me. Because I’ve been playing four months straight with professional players and I’ve been able to understand the game a little bit more.’ So, that was my mindset. It ended up not happening. My coach was pretty inconsistent with my playing time and didn’t really trust me to score as much. Kind of put me in a box. A big part of my game is the mid-range, that’s my sweet spot. My coach didn’t allow that, it wasn’t part of the offense.”

Gonzalez made three visits during her time in the transfer portal: Radford, Mercer and Stony Brook. Ultimately, she chose to become a Seawolf.

“After my visit [with] Stony Brook, I knew right away that this is where I wanted to be,” Gonzalez said. 

Most recently, the Seawolves’ top scorer played a key role in their win over Hofstra in the Battle of Long Island, contributing 12 rebounds, two rebounds and two steals. Gonzalez’s breakout season will continue on Friday, when Stony Brook hosts the Hampton Pirates at Stony Brook Arena. Opening tip-off is scheduled for noon.