DePaul University Athletics
Aneesah Morrow Named WBCA All-America Honorable Mention
3/31/2022 5:28:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Latest honor is 11th postseason accolade in March for National Freshman of the Year
CHICAGO – On the last day of March, DePaul's consensus National Freshman of the Year Aneesah Morrow earned her 11th postseason accolade of the month.
The latest honor came Thursday when Morrow was named Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-America Honorable Mention.
That was the fifth All-American team for the Blue Demon power forward, who was previously selected All-American Second Team by the Associated Press, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), Sports Illustrated and The Athletic.
She was the runaway choice as National Freshman of the Year by the WBCA, the USBWA and The Athletic---bringing her postseason award count to eight.
Three more came courtesy of the BIG EAST Conference---All-BIG EAST First Team, BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.
She was a unanimous choice on all three.
It's been an unbelievable 28-day run that began with the conference awards on March 3.
As you peel away each layer of success, you discover a soft-spoken, unassuming young student-athlete who carries a perfect 4.0 GPA and silently sets a goal for herself every day of the basketball season.
Aneesah is a potent blend of two parents who were exceptional athletes in their own right.
Her mom Nafeesah (Brown) Morrow was a 6-foot, 2-inch two-time, all-conference forward at Nebraska who could shoot the lights out. Dad Ed Morrow played outside linebacker on the Cornhuskers' 1994 national champion.
Aneesah grew up playing point guard, developing her ball-handling, passing and command of the court. A growth spurt in high school enabled her to excel at all five positions with Simeon and lead the girls' basketball team to its first state championship as a junior.
The shooting touch, visual athleticism and basketball IQ comes from her mom. The power moves and pure athleticism that enables the 6-1 daughter to leap up and grab the rim comes from her dad.
And, there's an underlying, inner toughness that comes from all the hard-nosed, physical one-on-one battles with her older brother also named Ed who starred at Simeon and played at Nebraska and Marquette.
You could see why DePaul's freshman phenom was able to haul in a BIG EAST record 27 rebounds against Seton Hall which is also an NCAA season high.
You could see how Morrow put on a show for an FS1 national TV audience with a career-high and BIG EAST freshman record 41 points against NCAA tournament Elite Eight qualifier Creighton.
The numbers speak for themselves.
She averaged a double-double with 21.9 points and 13.8 rebounds a game and leads the nation in rebounds, rebounds per game and offensive rebounds per game. The versatile power forward is also third in the country in field goals, sixth in points and No. 8 in steals.
Morrow is second in double-doubles with 27---one behind WBCA Player of the Year Aliyah Boston who has led South Carolina to the Final Four. Morrow's string of 23 consecutive double-doubles that ended at the BIG EAST tournament made her one of only five players in NCAA women's basketball history to rack up 20-straight in one season.
She made history as the first player ever to win five USBWA National Freshman of Week awards and the first to win 13 BIG EAST Freshman of the Week awards. The previous USBWA standard of four was held by the country's top two sophomores---Bueckers and Iowa's Caitlin Clark, the nation's leading scorer.
Morrow was at a whole another level Jan. 21-26 when she finished with 33 points and 15 rebounds against Butler, 32 points and 15 boards against Xavier and 30 points and 14 rebounds against NCAA Final Four power Connecticut.
According to ESPN Stats and Information Research, that was the first time a NCAA women's basketball player had strung together three consecutive games of 30 points and 10 rebounds since current Washington Mystics star Alyssa Clark accomplished the feat for Middle Tennessee in 2010.
Morrow said that she played this season with a considerable chip on her shoulder after a series of injuries in high school had some big-time schools fading to black on the recruiting trail.
She wasted little time proving the doubters wrong, scoring 31 points in her first game as a Blue Demon. That NCAA debut was the best opening-night rookie performance in coach Doug Bruno's 36-year Hall of Fame career.
From that auspicious beginning, Morrow would go on to break 11 BIG EAST records.
It's no wonder she is a national finalist for two of the most prestigious awards in women's college basketball---the John Wooden Player of the Year and the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year. Morrow was also among the five finalists for the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Award and a top 10 finalist for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
ESPN was the first to proclaim her the No. 1 freshman in the land, and that was well before she shattered the DePaul all-time record for rebounds in a season with 457. The previous mark was 397 by All-American Diana Vines in 1986-87.
Morrow has also set a new season record for rebounds per game with 13.8, eclipsing Vines' 13.7 in 1986-87.
WBCA 2021-22 All-America Team
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (Wade Trophy Player of the Year)
Cameron Brink, Stanford
Caitlin Clark, Iowa
Elissa Cunane, North Carolina State
Naz Hillmon, Michigan
Rhyne Howard, Kentucky
Ashley Joens, Iowa State
Haley Jones, Stanford
Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech
NaLyssa Smith, Baylor
Honorable Mention
Shakira Austin, Mississippi;
Diamond Battles, UCF
Kierstan Bell, Florida Gulf Coast
Grace Berger, Indiana
Leigha Brown, Michigan
Veronica Burton, Northwestern
Nia Clouden, Michigan State
Lorela Cubaj, Georgia Tech
Monika Czinano, Iowa
Mia Davis, Temple
Anna DeWolfe, Fordham
Jasmine Dickey, Delaware
Maya Dodson, Notre Dame
Emily Engstler, Louisville
Vivian Gray, Texas Tech
Rori Harmon, Texas
Anastasia Hayes, Mississippi State
Destanni Henderson, South Carolina
Mya Hollingshed, Colorado
Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana
Jordan Horston, Tennessee
Lexie Hull, Stanford
Morgan Jones, Florida State
Deja Kelly, North Carolina
Ayoka Lee, Kansas State
Charlisse Leger-Walker, Washington State
Taylor Mikesell, Ohio State
Olivia Miles , Notre Dame
Aneesah Morrow, DePaul
Charisma Osborne, UCLA
Te-Hina Paopao, Oregon
Khayla Pointer, Louisiana State
Angel Reese, Maryland
Cate Reese, Arizona
Nyara Sabally, Oregon
Jacy Sheldon, Ohio State
Maddy Siegrist, Villanova
Kianna Smith, Louisville
Kiara Smith, Florida
Hailey Van Lith, Louisville
Christyn Williams, Connecticut
Madi Williams, Oklahoma
The latest honor came Thursday when Morrow was named Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-America Honorable Mention.
That was the fifth All-American team for the Blue Demon power forward, who was previously selected All-American Second Team by the Associated Press, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), Sports Illustrated and The Athletic.
She was the runaway choice as National Freshman of the Year by the WBCA, the USBWA and The Athletic---bringing her postseason award count to eight.
Three more came courtesy of the BIG EAST Conference---All-BIG EAST First Team, BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.
She was a unanimous choice on all three.
It's been an unbelievable 28-day run that began with the conference awards on March 3.
As you peel away each layer of success, you discover a soft-spoken, unassuming young student-athlete who carries a perfect 4.0 GPA and silently sets a goal for herself every day of the basketball season.
Aneesah is a potent blend of two parents who were exceptional athletes in their own right.
Her mom Nafeesah (Brown) Morrow was a 6-foot, 2-inch two-time, all-conference forward at Nebraska who could shoot the lights out. Dad Ed Morrow played outside linebacker on the Cornhuskers' 1994 national champion.
Aneesah grew up playing point guard, developing her ball-handling, passing and command of the court. A growth spurt in high school enabled her to excel at all five positions with Simeon and lead the girls' basketball team to its first state championship as a junior.
The shooting touch, visual athleticism and basketball IQ comes from her mom. The power moves and pure athleticism that enables the 6-1 daughter to leap up and grab the rim comes from her dad.
And, there's an underlying, inner toughness that comes from all the hard-nosed, physical one-on-one battles with her older brother also named Ed who starred at Simeon and played at Nebraska and Marquette.
You could see why DePaul's freshman phenom was able to haul in a BIG EAST record 27 rebounds against Seton Hall which is also an NCAA season high.
You could see how Morrow put on a show for an FS1 national TV audience with a career-high and BIG EAST freshman record 41 points against NCAA tournament Elite Eight qualifier Creighton.
The numbers speak for themselves.
She averaged a double-double with 21.9 points and 13.8 rebounds a game and leads the nation in rebounds, rebounds per game and offensive rebounds per game. The versatile power forward is also third in the country in field goals, sixth in points and No. 8 in steals.
Morrow is second in double-doubles with 27---one behind WBCA Player of the Year Aliyah Boston who has led South Carolina to the Final Four. Morrow's string of 23 consecutive double-doubles that ended at the BIG EAST tournament made her one of only five players in NCAA women's basketball history to rack up 20-straight in one season.
She made history as the first player ever to win five USBWA National Freshman of Week awards and the first to win 13 BIG EAST Freshman of the Week awards. The previous USBWA standard of four was held by the country's top two sophomores---Bueckers and Iowa's Caitlin Clark, the nation's leading scorer.
Morrow was at a whole another level Jan. 21-26 when she finished with 33 points and 15 rebounds against Butler, 32 points and 15 boards against Xavier and 30 points and 14 rebounds against NCAA Final Four power Connecticut.
According to ESPN Stats and Information Research, that was the first time a NCAA women's basketball player had strung together three consecutive games of 30 points and 10 rebounds since current Washington Mystics star Alyssa Clark accomplished the feat for Middle Tennessee in 2010.
Morrow said that she played this season with a considerable chip on her shoulder after a series of injuries in high school had some big-time schools fading to black on the recruiting trail.
She wasted little time proving the doubters wrong, scoring 31 points in her first game as a Blue Demon. That NCAA debut was the best opening-night rookie performance in coach Doug Bruno's 36-year Hall of Fame career.
From that auspicious beginning, Morrow would go on to break 11 BIG EAST records.
It's no wonder she is a national finalist for two of the most prestigious awards in women's college basketball---the John Wooden Player of the Year and the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year. Morrow was also among the five finalists for the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Award and a top 10 finalist for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
ESPN was the first to proclaim her the No. 1 freshman in the land, and that was well before she shattered the DePaul all-time record for rebounds in a season with 457. The previous mark was 397 by All-American Diana Vines in 1986-87.
Morrow has also set a new season record for rebounds per game with 13.8, eclipsing Vines' 13.7 in 1986-87.
WBCA 2021-22 All-America Team
Aliyah Boston, South Carolina (Wade Trophy Player of the Year)
Cameron Brink, Stanford
Caitlin Clark, Iowa
Elissa Cunane, North Carolina State
Naz Hillmon, Michigan
Rhyne Howard, Kentucky
Ashley Joens, Iowa State
Haley Jones, Stanford
Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech
NaLyssa Smith, Baylor
Honorable Mention
Shakira Austin, Mississippi;
Diamond Battles, UCF
Kierstan Bell, Florida Gulf Coast
Grace Berger, Indiana
Leigha Brown, Michigan
Veronica Burton, Northwestern
Nia Clouden, Michigan State
Lorela Cubaj, Georgia Tech
Monika Czinano, Iowa
Mia Davis, Temple
Anna DeWolfe, Fordham
Jasmine Dickey, Delaware
Maya Dodson, Notre Dame
Emily Engstler, Louisville
Vivian Gray, Texas Tech
Rori Harmon, Texas
Anastasia Hayes, Mississippi State
Destanni Henderson, South Carolina
Mya Hollingshed, Colorado
Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana
Jordan Horston, Tennessee
Lexie Hull, Stanford
Morgan Jones, Florida State
Deja Kelly, North Carolina
Ayoka Lee, Kansas State
Charlisse Leger-Walker, Washington State
Taylor Mikesell, Ohio State
Olivia Miles , Notre Dame
Aneesah Morrow, DePaul
Charisma Osborne, UCLA
Te-Hina Paopao, Oregon
Khayla Pointer, Louisiana State
Angel Reese, Maryland
Cate Reese, Arizona
Nyara Sabally, Oregon
Jacy Sheldon, Ohio State
Maddy Siegrist, Villanova
Kianna Smith, Louisville
Kiara Smith, Florida
Hailey Van Lith, Louisville
Christyn Williams, Connecticut
Madi Williams, Oklahoma
Players Mentioned
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