Aneesah Morrow was never coming out of that game.
Not a chance. Not with LSU trailing by five points in the final quarter of an Elite Eight matchup with No. 1 seed UCLA. Not with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
When Morrow crumpled to the court in the final 90 seconds of the third quarter, blood dripping from her nose onto the hardwood, it seemed that LSU’s game was about to collapse with her.
It was a fluke collision. Teammate Sa’Myah Smith slammed Morrow’s face with the back of her head after being knocked backward by UCLA star Lauren Betts. But that accident forced Morrow to the locker room in one of the most crucial stretches of the season for the Tigers.
There was no time for a mask or any other measures. So Morrow played the final 9 minutes and 34 seconds of her collegiate career with her face unprotected, the bridge of her nose visibly swollen out of shape. She set screens with her shoulders squared firmly, swatted offensive rebounds and poked at loose dribbles.
With 74 seconds remaining, Morrow scored a layup off a dish from Flau’jae Johnson to cut the lead to seven. But no act of heroism from Morrow was enough to lift the Tigers over the top-ranked team in the nation. She fouled out in the final 26 seconds as UCLA grinded out a 72-65 victory.
It wasn’t the ending Morrow wanted. She finished her collegiate career as the third-best rebounder in NCAA women’s basketball history. After starting at DePaul, Morrow elevated herself into a potential WNBA draft lottery pick through her final two years with LSU. But Morrow wanted more — a trip to the Final Four, a chance to fight for the first and last championship of her career.
Still, the final outing of Morrow’s prestigious collegiate career proved the point she’s been trying to make since she first picked up a basketball in Chicago — she will never back down.
“I put a lot on my shoulders to come out and do what I did every night,” Morrow said after the loss. “Nobody in the country did what I did every night. Nobody in the country did what I did over these four years. I’m honestly just proud of myself for overcoming as much as I overcame and being able to do it at the biggest level.”
Morrow never shook her identity as an underdog.
She was a high school standout in Chicago — winning the city championship as a freshman, making All-State as a senior — but never garnered interest from top programs. Morrow’s best offers came from DePaul, St. John’s and Rutgers. Despite being an NCAA statistical leader throughout her first two years with the Blue Demons, Morrow was regularly looked over in national conversations.
“I do feel like I’m kind of overlooked,” Morrow told the Chicago Tribune during her sophomore season with DePaul. “I feel like numbers don’t lie — and at the end of the day, my numbers are not lying.”
And it happened again this year as a high-profile senior with LSU. Despite leading the league in rebounds, tallying 26 double-doubles and winning SEC Defensive Player of the Year, Morrow was passed over for SEC Player of the Year in favor of Texas center Madison Booker. The snub only added to Morrow’s postseason campaign.
Part of this phenomenon is fueled by her perceived disadvantage. At 6-foot-1, Morrow is substantially smaller than most elite forwards in both the NCAA and WNBA. But Morrow has been trying to explain this for years: size doesn’t matter.
Morrow will scrap with any player for a rebound, including her own teammates. Former LSU teammate and current Chicago Sky star Angel Reese joked about this phenomenon on social media after Morrow grabbed 19 rebounds against NC State: “Me (and) Nees gon be killing each other for rebounds in the W.”
This is nothing new. Morrow led the NCAA in rebounds as a freshman at DePaul, a year in which she was named Freshman Player of the ...
