Palm Beach Lakes senior Zaida Gonzalez can be tough to describe.
“I don’t even know the word for her,” Palm Beach Lakes coach Cassandra Rahming. “Zaida’s just funky all the time. She’s just an on-100-all-the-time type of kid. So when she gets excited, it’s like she picks everybody else up.”
Gonzalez had many opportunities to pick up her teammates, as she finished her senior year as one of Palm Beach County’s top scorers and helped lead the Rams back to Lakeland for a trip to the state Final Four. She is the Sun Sentinel’s Palm Beach County Class 7A-6A player of the year.
“I had to step up,” Gonzalez said. “We had a lot of good senior players, senior guards, that were big aspects of the team. So when I knew that they were graduating, I knew it was my part to step up, be a leader and do a lot more for my team on the stat sheet.”
Gonzalez arrived at Palm Beach Lakes after her sophomore year, transferring to the school from John I. Leonard. Rahming said she didn’t know much about the incoming guard, but she soon learned that she was a “gym rat” who was always looking to improve.
“She works hard, and she’s always trying to get better at her craft,” Rahming said.
Gonzalez had a strong junior year, earning a second-team All-County selection. Her senior year was even better. She averaged 20.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 2.1 assists per game.
With the loss of key seniors like last year’s player of the year, Keishmy Ayuso, and first-team All-County pick Sh’Naya Anderson, Gonzalez had the opportunity to grow in a leader for Lakes.
“Being that she was the top returner coming back to a team that made it to states, she just wanted to try to continue to be better and keep the tradition going of us being one of the top programs in the state,” Rahming said.
The senior stepped up in big games, scoring 26 points against King’s Academy and 35 (with 10 rebounds) against Spanish River. She scored 25 points in a district-final loss against Jupiter, then knocked down 26 points in the first round of the playoffs. She led the Rams in scoring in their state semifinal loss to Miami High.
“It didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but I think just getting there was a really big accomplishment for us,” Gonzalez said. “We dealt with a lot of adversity this season and last season. It’s truly not easy to get there.”
Gonzalez’s career will continue at the Division I level close to home and near her family, as she is signed to play at Florida International.
“This is a big chapter in my life, and they still want to be able to come to as many games as they can,” Gonzalez said. “This means everything to me. I worked so hard to go to the next level, to get a scholarship, and for that to happen is big for me.
“But I’m never satisfied. So when I go there, I’m going to just try to be the best freshman that I can, make an impact on my team the first year, and I’m just really excited to get better.”
