TINY TIGER ON THE PROWL Page 9
Aaliyah Quintana breaks state record
Aaliyah Quintana just may be the best high school basketball player in the state that few people have really heard about.
That is until now.
All Quintana did Wednesday was throw up a state-record 58 points, hitting 10 3-pointers and outscoring Questa by herself in the Taos Tigers’ 74-40 win.
A junior who has been a varsity member since she was a freshman, Quintana has stepped up her game big time this season, said her coach David Sanchez.
“She’s really got her game going,” he said. “She can score from outside, shoot off the dribble or get to the basket, which is pretty wonderful.”
Even before the record-setting performance, Quintana already was leading the state scoring and now she’s averaging 28.8 points a game.
A rigorous offseason training regimen has helped after she put up 13 points a game last season.
“I did work really hard in the summer time,” Quintana said. “I wanted to be able to show people what I do. I wanted to go from 13 to 26 points. I wanted to show people I did get better over the summer.
“I worked on a lot of things to help my game. I do have high expectations for myself and I am probably the hardest person on myself.” In particular, many long days in the gym. “Usually, we would have practices and I would stay a few hours at the gym afterwards, getting shots up after practice was done,” she said. “I would work on different things. I do ball handling a lot and I like to shoot. A lot of ball handling and 3-point shooting. For the hours that I stayed at the gym, that’s all I did this summer.”
What truly makes Quintana’s results remarkable is that she stands just 5 foot, 4 inches tall.
But her lack of stature has never been an impediment, at least not on the court, Sanchez said.
“It sometimes can be an issue as far as recruitment,” he said, noting Quintana hasn’t gotten a single letter from an interested college. “But the girl has a phenomenal vertical and she’s extremely athletic. You don’t see too many girls who hang in the air and shoot. Or hang in the air and switch it in the air from left hand to right hand.”
Sanchez said the star has come a long way since her days as a freshman and Quintana said she realized she needed to do more to help the Tigers, besides score.
“I’ve had to step up and be more of leader, and make more plays,” she said. “I’ve just kind of taken that leadership role and do the best I can in the position.”
Seeing that growth in her game has been particularly rewarding, Sanchez said.
“What she’s done this year, I’ve seen her mature from summer to now as a leader,” he said. “We have some freshmen on the varsity and she remembers how it was as a freshman. She’s teaching them. She’s doing a wonderful job being positive with her teammates. She’s not just worried about herself. She’s putting the team concept in front of her.”
And while the team concept is certainly heavy on her mind, Quintana also is looking ahead to the future.
“What motivates me most of all is not having any college offers,” she said. “Any college with me would be fine. I want to play for a good coach and I want to show them that I’m a hard worker.”
Quintana said her ultimate goal is to be a physical therapist, but you can’t beat the feeling of being on the court.
“Basketball is like a sanctuary,” she said. “You don’t really worry about things that are going on in your life. You’re just able to enjoy that game. It brings a lot of happiness to me. I get to express myself on the court. It’s really my home away from home.”