Isalys Quiñones

Isalys Briana Quiñones (born October 23, 1997) is a Puerto Rican basketball player. She played college basketball for Dartmouth from 2015 to 2019. She represents the senior Puerto Rican national team in international national team competitions.

She participated in the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Early life

The daughter of a county employee and a retired Naval officer, Quiñones inherited her height from her father who is . She started playing basketball at the age of five at the South Bay YMCA. By the time she was in sixth grade, she was the tallest in her class, contributing to unwelcome bullying. Nonetheless, her height was key to Joseph Casillas Elementary Lady Comets basketball team winning the first ever championship in 2007. As captain, she led the team to three championships in a row. On June 9, 2009, Joseph Casillas Elementary School retired her number 25 jersey in all sports.

High school career Quiñones attended Otay Ranch High School in Chula Vista, California, where she was a four-year starter on the girls' varsity basketball team. She recorded 1,289 total points (11.7 PPG), 930 rebounds (8.5 RPG), 45% in 2-pt Field Goals, 23% in 3-pt Field Goals, 70% free throws, 246 steals, 207 blocks, 176 assists, 32 Double-Doubles and one Triple-Double (11 points, 17 rebounds and 11 blocks). As a freshman (2011–2012), she started every game averaging 7.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

As a sophomore (2012–2013), Quiñones averaged 12.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, recorded five double-doubles and helped the team to a 19–9 record while elevating the team to the first playoffs appearance in school history. In December 2013, she was highlighted by The San Diego Union Tribune as 2012-2013 girls basketball players to watch.

Quiñones flourished by her junior year (2013–2014). As team co-captain, she averaged 17.9 points and 11.7 rebounds per game and recorded 18 double-doubles. On December 21, 2013, she recorded 27 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 blocks against Morse High School. On February 5, she recorded 37 points and 25 rebounds against Bonita Vista High School. She was recognized by The Mighty 1090 as Female Athlete of the Week. On February 11, she was named The San Diego Union Tribune Athlete of the Week. On February 15, she put up 31 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 blocks against Montgomery High School.

As a senior (2014–2015), Quiñones averaged 11.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. She led the Lady Mustangs to the first road playoff victory against higher ranked Imperial High School. On December 7, 2014, the Lady Mustangs defeated Castle Park Trojans with a final score of 40–25. Quiñones was identified as a key varsity player. On December 8, against Castle Park High School, she recorded her first Double-Double.

As a sophomore (2016–2017), she started 21 of 27 games played, was second on the team with 22 blocks, averaged 9.1 points per game, scored a career-high 23 points in Dartmouth's 4OT thriller vs. Columbia (1/27), grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds and five steals vs. Albany (12/29), scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and dished three assists vs. Harvard (1/21), shot 41.8 percent from the field and made 74 of 94 free throw attempts.

As a senior (2018–2019), Quiñones was named second team All-Ivy League. She started all 27 games that season for the Big Green, led the team with 14.0 points per game, first on the team with 18 blocked shots, second with 6.3 rebounds per game, and third on the team with 34 steals per game. She led team in rebounding in 11 different games, tied career high in points with 23 against Brown (2/23), and scored in double figures in 20 different games. In the first road season game against Vermont, Quiñones had 22 points, seven rebounds and three steals for the win. On November 9, 2018, against Loyola University Maryland, Quiñones led on the offensive end with a double-double of ten points and 12 rebounds. On November 11, 2018, she once again led the way, scoring 22 points on 9 of 17 shooting and adding seven rebounds and three steals. On December 9, 2018, she led the way for Dartmouth with 18 points, four rebounds and two steals. Dartmouth went to beat Cornell (63–56) on the road with Quiñones scoring 19 points and nine rebounds. She was 5 for 7 from the arc. Dartmouth beat Columbia 70-69 on the road with Quiñones hitting a pair of free throws with 4 seconds left to give the Big Green the win. She had a game-high 21 points. On February 22, 2019, Dartmouth beat Yale at home in a buzzer-beating put-back from Paula Lenart, when Quiñones attempted a three-pointer with six seconds to go for the win (56–54). She led the team with 18 points. The next day against Brown, Quiñones led the Big Green with 23 points for the 78–43 win.

National team career In 2017, Quiñones' parents reached out to Puerto Rico's National Team management to understand the process for consideration into the program. In preparation for the Centrobasket and Pre-World Cup 2017 Tournament, Quiñones was one of several players invited to tryouts. The Centrobasket would grant three teams the opportunity to compete in the Pre-World Cup 2017 Tournament. Several new players were invited to the tryouts as Puerto Rican Basketball Federation (FBPUR) President Yum Ramos expressed this was an opportunity for a generational turnover. On June 26, 2017, Quiñones was listed on the official roster for Centrobasket 2017. The intent of the new roster was to rejuvenate the team. They brought energy and speed commented Jerry Batista, the National team coach. He also touted the group as "hungry, athletic, and quick". The Centrobasket 2017 was held in St. Thomas Virgin Island. In the game against Jamaica, Quiñones scored 12 points to secure a win 90–44. In the game against Bahamas, Quiñones scored eight points for the 69–42 win. Puerto Rico earned the bronze medal.

Shortly after 2017 Centrobasket, Quiñones made the roster for the 2017 FIBA Women's AmeriCup. Puerto Rico was part of Group B which included Paraguay, Canada, Cuba and Mexico. The youngest player in the team, Quiñones was recognized by Coach Batista as a player with great expectations and the future of the National team. The Americup 2017 tournament was held in Argentina from August 6 to 13, 2017. Puerto Rico went on to win the bronze medal with historic win (75–68) against Brazil, earning their World Cup ticket.

In July 2018, Quiñones made the roster for the 2018 Central American Games held in Barranquilla, Colombia. Coach Batista identified Quiñones as a key player in the team. In the game against Guatemala, she contributed 11 points in the 112–36 win. The team won the bronze medal.

In August 2018, Quiñones made the roster for the 2018 Centrobasket in Manati, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico faced Bahamas, Costa Rica and Mexico in group B. Puerto Rico secured the ticket to Americup 2019, earning the gold medal.

In September 2018, Quiñones made the roster for the 2018 World Cup held in Tenerife, Spain. Puerto Rico played against Japan, Belgium and Spain in Group B. After the tournament, she returned to Dartmouth College to complete her studies.

From July 26 to August 11, 2019, Quiñones participated in the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. She was a big factor in the success of team Puerto Rico earning the bronze medal. She averaged 7.4 points and 4.2 rebounds in just over 22 minutes per game. Her best performance was in the bronze medal game; she had 12 points, five rebounds and a steal. She had 11 points, four rebounds and a block against Canada and eight points, five boards, one steal and a block against the U.S.

In September 2019, Quiñones took part of the 2019 FIBA Women's AmeriCup held in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico was part of Group A which included Dominican Republic, Cuba, Canada and Mexico. Quiñones had key 3-pointers that contributed to the win against Cuba (80–55). Puerto Rico came in fourth place.

Quiñones was the top performer at FIBA's Women's Olympic pre-qualifying tournament 2019 in Edmonton, Canada in the game between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic and FIBA's Olympic pre-qualifying tournament 2020 in Bourges, France in the game between Puerto Rico and France. She represented Puerto Rico at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.