LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Spring Valley High School graduate and current University of Southern California basketball player is sharing more about her road to recovery after she was shot at a North Las Vegas house party in 2022.
ESPN has released a new documentary highlighting Aaliyah Gayles' road to recovery and her determination to get back on the court.
During her senior year of high school, Gayles was the eighth-ranked basketball recruit in the country and she ended up choosing to play college ball at USC. She also played in the McDonald's All-American Game in 2022.
However, on April 16, 2022, her life took a different turn after a house party in a gated community in North Las Vegas, near Lone Mountain Road and Simmons Street.
"We seen people dancing and doing what they want to do," Gayles told ESPN. "A group of girls came, started arguing with the birthday girl. It escalated from that and I was like okay. It's time to go."
As Gayles and her girlfriend started to leave, two men in ski masks approached them.
"He asked her a simple question. It was like do you have a problem? What she said was 'No. But do you have a problem?' It led to her getting punched and I reacted. That led to me getting shot," Gayles told ESPN.
Someone called 911 and Gayles said she remembers first responders telling her to wake up and she was fighting the urge to go to sleep.
"After that, I don't remember anything else," Gayles recalled.
Gayles was taken to University Medical Center. Doctors said they found 18 holes and believed Gayles had been shot nine times.
"There were a lot of injuries to characterize and categorize and make sure we found all of her gunshot wounds," Dr. Allison McNickle, a UMC surgeon, told ESPN. "She had fractures in all of her extremities. In her left arm, she had a fracture of the forearm just above the wrist. In the right arm, she had a fracture around the elbow. In the right leg, she had a broken femur, which is the thigh bone, as well as a fracture in her ankle."
Channel 13 caught up with Gayles almost three weeks after the shooting and it was clear that basketball was still on her mind. Gayles told us she was determined to get back to the court.
WATCH: Channel 13 talks to Aaliyah Gayles about her road to recovery following North Las Vegas shooting
USC women's head basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb told ESPN she was also willing to give Gayles a chance and still wanted Gayles to join USC.
"You sit with her and you talk to her and I saw her smile. It was immediately clear, whatever bullets there were and however many exit wounds, they did not touch that young person's heart and her spirit," Gottlieb said. "The one thing I felt very strongly about is she's going to be part of this USC family and we're going to do what we can to make sure she's here and gets a degree."
Gayles had to relearn how to walk and took her first steps two months after the shooting. In July 2022, she moved to USC to start her college journey. In the summer of 2023, just over a year since the shooting, Gayles was fully cleared to play for USC.
"I'm a super human," Gayles told ESPN. "I thought it was going to take me at least two to three years."
On Nov. 6, 2023, Gayles got back on the court in Las Vegas by taking part in warm-ups as the USC Trojans beat the seventh-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes 83-74 inside T-Mobile Arena. On Nov. 10, 2023, Gayles played in her first game as a Trojan and spent two minutes on the court.
"I was definitely shaking in my boots," Gayles said. "I was really happy. I didn't care what time it was in the game. I was just ready to get in there."
USC was knocked out of the 2024 NCAA Tournament after losing to the University of Connecticut 80-73 in the Elite Eight. UConn was knocked out by Iowa. USC ended the season with an overall record of 29-6, which is the most wins the team has recorded since the 1985-1986 season under head coach Linda Sharp.
When looking at Gayles stats for the year, she played in seven games, racking up 10 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
You can watch the full documentary on ESPN+.
