In many ways, the Ooltewah High School girls’ basketball program is ahead of schedule.
On a varsity roster of 14, the team’s freshman class of eight has provided a major spark, accounting for nearly 60% of the team’s scoring, in large part due to the prolific play of Aleigha Taylor.
The 5-foot-6 combo guard hasn’t wasted a minute early into her prep career as she’s already on a career trajectory to score well over 2,000 points in four seasons.
Taylor’s outstanding speed and finishing ability flashed recently in a 46-45 home win over Red Bank as she stole a pass and broke away from two defenders to finish a fastbreak layup with her non-dominant left shooting hand. After scoring 37 points while adding half a dozen steals and assists in a home win over Howard on Tuesday, Taylor is up to 562 points in her debut season with two regular season games and postseason play still to go.
“It’s mind-blowing when you stop to think about Aleigha already scoring nearly 600 points in just the regular season as a freshman,” Ooltewah head coach Tony Williams said. “She has the ‘it’ factor. She is also so unselfish and so humble. You see that in the way her teammates play with her. To have that personality where nobody is jealous of you is big.