Aaliyah Gayles, who was shot multiple times at a house party in 2022, checked into a basketball game for the first time in 574 days in the fourth quarter of No. 21 USC’s 67-51 win over Florida Gulf Coast on Friday night.
With 1:40 left in the game, the redshirt freshman entered to a standing ovation from the USC bench and a cheering crowd at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.
Gayles dribbled near half court as the final seconds ticked off the clock. Forward Rayah Marshall picked Gayles up into a celebratory hug as her teammates surrounded her.
“It felt good,” Gayles said to ESPN. “It boosted my confidence a little bit. I feel like I was back to my old self.”
Gayles suffered fractures in all four of her limbs in an April 16, 2022, shooting in North Las Vegas. Doctors counted 18 bullet holes, and Gayles underwent multiple surgeries to repair the damage. She had played in the Jordan Brand Classic in Chicago the night before. She signed her national letter of intent from her hospital bed and promised herself she would one day play for the Trojans.
Two months later, she started to learn to walk again. She enrolled at USC for the fall…
