On Sunday, Aneesah Morrow secured her 28th double-double performance of the season with five-and-a-half minutes left.
Despite LSU losing to Ole Miss, 85-77, Morrow’s double-double was historic. She became the second women’s college basketball player to reach 100 double-doubles.
“It’s hard being as consistent as I am,” Morrow said. “Every night, I have aches and pains, and I continue to fight through.”
Morrow is no stranger to fighting through adversity and hardship. She credits her grit to her parents, who helped pave the way for her success.
Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, however, Morrow was forced to grow up quickly despite her parents’ always-supportive nature.
Morrow was recently a guest on Flau’jae Johnson’s podcast, “The Best of Both Worlds,” where she briefly spoke of her past living in Chicago.
“Growing up in the city on the South Side, you see some things you shouldn’t see as a young girl,” Morrow said on the podcast. “I’ve been in [the] crossfire before. I’ve seen people take their last breath.”
But Morrow always embraced a city that showed her things that no one should see, let alone at eight years old. She showed her seemingly unconditional love for Chicago through basketball.
In her junior year of high school, Morrow led her Simeon Career Academy basketball team to its first girls’ basketball state title. She was a top 50-ranked recruit in the 2021 class, according to MaxPreps and Prospects Nation.
Regardless, Morrow decided to stay in her home city and play for DePaul.
“I wasn’t ready to go [away] to school,” Morrow said on a podcast with The Players Tribune. “I felt like DePaul was the closest school to home with that winning tradition.”
Despite staying in Chicago, Morrow’s career was set to take a big step. But her city knew the type of player she was, and she only proved them right.
Morrow started all 33 games her freshman season, leading the team with 21.9 points and 13.8 rebounds per game. Even as a true freshman, she led the country in rebounds per game and recorded double-doubles in 27 of DePaul’s 33 games.
She took things to the next level her sophomore year, averaging 25.7 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. Morrow ranked fourth in the NCAA in scoring and seventh in rebounding, the only player other than Angel Reese in the top 10 in both categories.
The irony in that? Morrow and Reese would be teammates just a season later. After Morrow’s sophomore season at DePaul, she entered her name into the transfer portal.
The move meant she had to leave home, but home would never leave Morrow.
In the quest to find a new home away from home, South Carolina looked like a good fit for Morrow, as the Gamecocks lost their star post-player, Aliyah Boston, to the WNBA.
However, after a visit to Baton Rouge, Morrow committed to Kim Mulkey and the Tigers.
“I felt like the community, the atmosphere here was kind of crazy,” Morrow said. “Having people follow you, want pictures with you, just supporting you, that’s what I really loved about it.”
While Morrow’s first season in the Bayou forced her to share the wealth of rebounds with Reese, Morrow still shined. She averaged 10 rebounds and 16.4 points per game, including a 37-point, 16-rebound performance against Virginia in the Cayman Islands.
With Reese moving onto the WNBA after the 2024 season, Morrow was set to be a crucial leader for her senior season, and her game was now arguably more polished and defined than ever before.
But Morrow’s senior season included a trip to where it all started and a place she holds near and dear to her heart. LSU was set to take on the University of Illinois-Chicago and was to do so in the Windy City.
The Tigers set similar hometown games for Reese in Baltimore, Maryland, and Mikaylah Williams in Bossier City, Louisiana.
“It’s not easy to always take them back home, but we try,” Mulkey said. “There’s something in your heart; I remember when I was a player, I always wanted to go back home and play in front of people that watched me grow up.”
Morrow could show her teammates and coaches her hometown, high school and where she grew up. She also had nearly 40 family members and friends attending the game.
“It was a great experience. I teared up a little bit,” Morrow said. “Just being able to see how much of an impact I’ve made was amazing.”
Morrow had herself an all-around impactful performance against the Flames, finishing with 19 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, four steals and two blocks.
An all-around performance was fitting for Morrow in her hometown because not only did Morrow show her love for Chicago through basketball, but she also showed it through her toughness.
Morrow stands at just 6-foot-1, but regardless, she leads the country in rebounds by more than a rebound. Morrow often sees opposing players who may have a height advantage of two inches or more, but she has still managed to record double-digit rebounds in all but three games this season.
“Morrow is a fantastic player on the block,” Stanford head coach Kate Paye said. “She demands a double team.”
To be at a disadvantage, height-wise, in arguably more games than not this season, Morrow has needed toughness and to play with a chip on her shoulder.
Luckily, she’s always played with a chip on her shoulder, and Chicago gave her that chip.
“She never tires. She never gets tired,” Mulkey said. “That kid is tough as nails. You just can’t imagine.”
Now, Morrow’s toughness will be visible to everyone as her college career goes down in history.
Morrow is the second women’s basketball player ever to reach 100 career double-doubles. She also became the eighth female basketball player to record 2,500 points and 1,500 rebounds in January against Vanderbilt.
“There’s no substitute for what that kid has inside of her heart,” Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph said of Morrow. “You can’t coach what she does. You either have that, or you don’t.”
With Morrow’s college career going down in history, a career in which she hopes ends with a national championship, it’ll now be for the women’s basketball world to see that Morrow’s toughness and love for the game comes from one place: Chicago.
