SPOKANE, Wash. — When Aneesah Morrow transferred to LSU from DePaul, that move came with leaving her home city of Chicago.

The move that would take her further away from her family meant she had to find a second family. She found that second family in Baton Rouge.

“They have encouraged me throughout the process,” Morrow said. “I know that it was hard being away from your family and, honestly, experiencing a culture shock. I had to grow up a lot.”

READ MORE: How Aneesah Morrow’s upbringing helped her make history at LSU

That second family started with Kim Mulkey, a coach that has developed countless women’s college basketball players that have gone on to play at the next level.

Morrow is next to be added to that list, which she feels wouldn’t have been possible without Mulkey.

Mulkey encouraged her and allowed her to grow, even if it was through saying things that Morrow may not have wanted to hear.

“She challenged me to be able to make it in the real world,” Morrow said. “She keeps it real with you, she shows you how it is, and honestly, I’m just grateful for that.”

Through challenges, she developed resilience. That development started from Morrow’s first practice at LSU; a school fresh off a national championship, in a place completely different from where she came from, and a team with completely new faces.

Those new faces, like Mulkey, also became part of her second family.

“I know that they have my back and I have they’re back far beyond LSU,” Morrow said. “I’m grateful for that because you don’t get to experience teammates like that.”

She finished her collegiate career with both the third-most career rebounds in NCAA Division 1 history with 1,713 rebounds and she became the second women’s college basketball player to record 100 double-doubles.

Her resilience was brought to the surface most in Austin, Texas, when she suffered a foot injury against the Longhorns.

Morrow had three knee surgeries in the past, injuries that made her question if her ability to play basketball would be the same.

Her foot injury against Texas, however, challenged her in a new way.

“It’s nothing like having an injury you’ve never endured before,” Morrow said. “My body has had to learn how to push through certain things mentally, being able to stay in it, pushing through the tough times of just not knowing if I would be able to play.”

Pushing through that injury and putting an impactful product on the court allowed Morrow to grow along with the challenges both Mulkey and Morrow herself had on the table.

After suffering her foot injury against Texas, Morrow recorded six double-doubles in the team’s last nine games, including a 36-point, 14-rebound performance against Florida in the SEC Tournament and a 30-point, 19-rebound performance against NC State in the Sweet 16.

Those are just numbers on a stat sheet, though. To Morrow, so much goes into every performance like the 31 double-doubles she recorded this season.

Mulkey sees what has gone into it for Morrow. She’s seen the growth she’s had as a player, and has seen her intensity as a player grow first-hand.

“You knew what you were getting from her and her effort,” Mulkey said. “It didn’t matter how banged up she was, how hurt she felt, Nees only knows how to play, and that’s hard.”

There’s things even Mulkey doesn’t see that Morrow has endured and embraced into her game. Morrow made the difficult seem routine almost every game, showing off skills that she believes separated herself from other post players.

“Nobody in the country did what I did every night. Nobody in the country did what I did over the four years,” Morrow said. “I’m honestly just proud of myself for overcoming as much as I’ve overcome and being able to do it at the biggest level.

Morrow may not be the tallest post player in the country, but the records she set and the growth and development of her game show that never mattered.

That journey earned her a second family, a family that she plans on being a part of well beyond her college career.

In addition to that family, Morrow leaves the college ranks with a lot of growth, a lot of resilience and a coach that’s allowed her to become the player she is today.