Aneesah Morrow

Aneesah Morrow
Morrow with LSU in 2024
No. 24 – LSU Tigers
PositionForward
LeagueSoutheastern Conference
Personal information
Born (2003-02-02) February 2, 2003 (age 21)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Career information
High schoolSimeon Career Academy
(Chicago, Illinois)
CollegeDePaul (2021–2023)
LSU (2023–present)
Career highlights and awards

Aneesah Morrow (born February 2, 2003) is an American college basketball player for the LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). She began her collegiate career at DePaul and was named the WBCA and USBWA National Freshman of the Year in 2022.

High school career

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Morrow attended Simeon Career Academy in Chicago, where she helped lead the Wolverines to their first city championship her freshman year. During her junior year, she averaged 23 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists, and led them to a 35–2 record and the girls basketball program's first state championship in 2020.[1] In her senior year she averaged 28.4 points, 14.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 2.9 steals and 2.3 blocks per game.[2] Following the season she was named an All-State first team selection by the Associated Press, Champaign News-Gazette and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA).[3][4]

College career

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DePaul

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Freshman season

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Morrow began her collegiate career during the 2021–22 season. In her first career game on November 9, she recorded 31 points and nine rebounds against Texas Southern. She was subsequently named Big East Freshman of the Week.[5] In the week of December 12 she earned her first United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) National Freshman of the Week honor following an 18-point, 17-rebound game in DePaul's 94–85 upset against then-No. 14 Kentucky. On January 30, she scored 22 points and recorded a Big East single-game record 27 rebounds, surpassing the previous record of 26 set by Peggy Walsh in 1986.[6][7] In the regular-season finale on February 27 at Creighton, she scored a career-high 41 points and added 18 rebounds. The 41 points was a Big East rookie record, and one point shy of the program's all time single-game scoring record set by Beth Hasenmiller in 1991.[8] She subsequently earned her record thirteenth Big East Freshman of the Week, and fifth National Freshman of Week honor, surpassing the previous record of four set by Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers.[9]

She averaged a double-double with 21.9 points and 13.8 rebounds a game, and led the nation in total rebounds (457), rebounds per game (13.8) and offensive rebounds per game (5.8) and ranked second in the nation in double-doubles (27).[10] She also had a streak of 23 consecutive double-doubles, which ended during the quarterfinals of the 2022 Big East tournament in a 85–105 loss to Marquette. She became the fifth player in NCAA women's basketball history to record more than 20 consecutive double-doubles in a season.[11] Following an outstanding season, she was named a unanimous selection to the All-Big East first team, and All-Freshman team, and was named Big East Freshman of the Year.[12] She was also named USBWA National Freshman of the Year, and WBCA Freshman of the Year.[13][14][15] She was named a second-team All-American by Sports Illustrated, The Athletic, the Associated Press, and USBWA. She became the first All-American in program history.[16]

Sophomore season

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During the 2022–23 season, in her sophomore year, she was one of the top forwards in women's basketball, and averaged a double-double with 25.7 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. She ranked fourth in the nation in points and sixth in the nation in rebounding. She also ranked third in the nation with 25 double-doubles in 33 games.[17] With 848 points this season, Morrow set the program's single season scoring record, surpassing the previous record of 804 points set by Diana Vines' in the 1988–89 season. Following an outstanding season she was named a finalist for the Katrina McClain Award and named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press and USBWA.[18][19]

LSU

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Junior season

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On May 5, 2023, Morrow announced she was transferring to LSU.[20][21] On November 7, 2023, Morrow started in the first game of the season, recording six points and four rebounds, as the preseason No. 1 Tigers were upset 78-92 by No. 20 Colorado.[22] She moved to the bench for the next three games, but returned to the starting lineup in a game at Southeastern Louisiana in Angel Reese's absence.[23] Morrow had a memorable performance at the 2023 Cayman Islands Classic, where LSU was still missing Reese, and in the early moments of the first game, another starting forward, Sa'Myah Smith, was lost to injury. In the first game, Morrow recorded 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 steals in a 99-65 win against Niagara. In the second game, Morrow led the Tigers with 37 points and 16 rebounds in a close 76-73 win over Virginia. Following these performances, Morrow was named AP and ESPN's Player of the Week, as well as the SEC Player of the Week and was included in the USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week team.[24] LSU finished second in the SEC regular season with a 13-3 record and made it to the finals of the 2024 SEC women's basketball tournament, where Morrow was the top scorer of the team with 19 points in a 72-79 loss to South Carolina.[25] With a 28-5 record, LSU earned the third seed in what was Morrow's first NCAA Tournament. In her debut, Morrow led the team as the top scorer with 15 points in their 70-60 first-round win against Rice.[26] LSU made it to the Elite Eight, where they lost 87-94 to Iowa.[27] Following the season, Morrow was named to First-team All-SEC, an Honorable Mention All-American by AP, USBWA, and WBCA, as well as a finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award.[28]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage
 FT%  Free throw percentage  RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high  *  Led Division I

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2021–22 DePaul 33 33 30.4 51.9 23.3 70.5 *13.8 1.3 2.7 1.8 2.3 21.9
2022–23 DePaul 33 33 35.1 42.5 25.4 64.6 12.2 2.0 2.6 1.3 2.9 25.7
2023–24 LSU 37 34 32.7 46.4 21.7 80.1 10.0 1.7 2.5 1.1 1.9 16.4
Career 103 100 32.7 46.4 24.3 71.1 11.9 1.7 2.6 1.4 2.3 21.1
Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.[29]

Personal life

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Morrow's father, Edward, played linebacker at Nebraska, while her mother, Nafeesah, was an all-conference forward for Nebraska.[2][30]

References

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  1. ^ Costabile, Annie (February 5, 2022). "'Neesy' Morrow is young, but mighty and leading the NCAA". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Aneesah Morrow Bio". depaulbluedemons.com. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "2021 Illinois AP Class 3A/4A All-State girls basketball team". Associated Press. April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  4. ^ Richey, Scot (April 25, 2021). "44th News-Gazette All-State girls' basketball team". The News-Gazette. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  5. ^ "Morrow Wins Big East Freshman of the Week Award". depaulbluedemons.com. November 15, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  6. ^ "Morrow Sets All-Time Big East Rebounding Record in 85-65 Win at Seton Hall". depaulbluedemons.com. January 30, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  7. ^ "Aneesah Morrow Breaks Another Big East All-Time Record". depaulbluedemons.com. January 31, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  8. ^ "Morrow's Record-Breaking 41 Points Powers DePaul Past Creighton 90-84". depaulbluedemons.com. February 27, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  9. ^ "One for the Thumb: Morrow Wins Fifth National Freshman of Week Award". depaulbluedemons.com. March 1, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  10. ^ "Aneesah Morrow Named WBCA All-America Honorable Mention". depaulbluedemons.com. March 31, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  11. ^ Philippou, Alexa (March 5, 2022). "Aneesah Morrow's double-double streak ends as DePaul falls in Big East quarterfinals". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  12. ^ "Four Blue Demons Reap BIG EAST Postseason Honors". depaulbluedemons.com. March 3, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  13. ^ "DePaul's Morrow Wins 2021–22 Tamika Catchings Award". United States Basketball Writers Association. March 29, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  14. ^ "DePaul's Morrow Named 2022 WBCA Division I Freshman of the Year Presented by adidas". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. March 29, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  15. ^ "Aneesah Morrow Wins Third National Freshman of the Year Award". depaulbluedemons.com. March 29, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  16. ^ "Aneesah Morrow Makes Fourth All-American Team". depaulbluedemons.com. March 17, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  17. ^ Magee, Patrick (May 5, 2023). "5 things you should know about new LSU transfer Aneesah Morrow from DePaul". The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  18. ^ "Aneesah Morrow Selected a Finalist for Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Award". depaulbluedemons.com. March 2, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  19. ^ "Aneesah Morrow Named to Three All-America Teams on Wednesday". depaulbluedemons.com. March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  20. ^ Diaz, Cory (May 5, 2023). "Aneesah Morrow, top transfer forward, commits to Kim Mulkey, LSU women's basketball". Lafayette Daily Advertiser. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  21. ^ Jennings, Chantel (May 5, 2023). "Former DePaul forward Aneesah Morrow transferring to LSU: Why stars are flocking to Baton Rouge". The Athletic. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  22. ^ Diaz, Cory. "Colorado shell-shocks No. 1 LSU women's basketball in season opener". The Daily Advertiser. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  23. ^ "LSU's Reese absent again as Mulkey keeps mum". ESPN.com. 2023-11-21. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  24. ^ "Morrow Earns Three More Weekly Honors; SEC, AP and USBWA". LSU. 2023-11-28. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  25. ^ "No. 1 South Carolina wins SEC Tournament over No. 8 LSU 79-72 in game marred by skirmish, ejections". AP News. 2024-03-10. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  26. ^ "Tigers Advance In NCAA Tournament With 70-60 Win Over Rice". LSU. 2024-03-22. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  27. ^ "LSU Falls in Elite Eight to Iowa, 94-87". LSU. 2024-04-01. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  28. ^ "Aneesah Morrow". LSU. 2023-06-27. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  29. ^ "Aneesah Morrow College Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  30. ^ Ryan, Shannon (March 3, 2022). "South Sider Aneesah Morrow is determined to lead DePaul to new heights, one rebound at a time". The Athletic. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
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