LAKE VIEW, S.C. – Gwendasia Page has a certain goal she sets for herself every game.
“I always try my best to get a double-double,” the Lake View junior power forward said, before quickly adding, “(Then) I try to get a triple-double. I just love pushing myself to do better.”
Improving her output in every single category from last season, Page served as one of the main catalysts for the Wild Gators’ run back to the 1A lower state title game.
Whether on offense or defense, Page was among the best in the Pee Dee across the board this season, earning her the Morning News Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year honor.
An all-state selection, she nearly averaged a double-double with 12.4 points per game and 9.5 boards per contest. Her secondary stats were also among the top in the area with 3.4 assists and 4.8 steals, and she led all players in the Pee Dee with 4.9 blocks per game.
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Page led the Wild Gators in every category except scoring, and finished first on the team with 12 double-doubles this season.
It’s a noticeable improvement from last year when Page averaged 8.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.7 apg, 4.0 spg and 2.7 bpg.
“I read every pass,” Page said of her defensive improvements. “The assists just came with the flow. Once I got the steal, my team was already ahead (of the play), so it was just easier for me to get them the ball than to try to be selfish with it.
“For the blocks, I just work hard playing against the boys (to try to) do better.”
In terms of offense, one simple change in her approach allowed Page to find a sweet spot for her shot, she said.
“At the beginning of the year, I was just driving,” she said. “…Mostly at the end of the season, I saw that they girls put against me couldn’t hold me down low, so I just posted up.
“That’s really how I got most of my points.”
It was a skill that Page honed throughout the offseason whenever she could find the time to get on a court, LVHS coach Larry Inman said.
“I saw her working post moves down at the wellness center, down at the elementary gym,” Inman said. “Everywhere I could see her, I saw her working on post moves. Then I saw other players feeding her the ball…and then you had some great ball coaches that were helping her take up her game.”
Inman is expecting even more improvement next season and a milestone for Page. She currently sits at 954 rebounds and should eclipse 1,000 pretty early in the season, Inman said.
“She always has a big impact,” he said. “The team rallies around her and we work together. Like she said, we thrive on defense, and when she’s playing good defense, everybody else is playing good defense, and that’s the name of the game.”
