Aneesah Morrow returns home in LSU’s first road game at UIC – LSU

On By Littum

CHICAGO – Aneesah Morrow is at home in Chicago, as no. 5 LSU (13-0) is set for the first road game of the season at UIC (2-5) on Thursday at 7pm CT at Credit Union 1 Arena.

Morrow is coming off a huge performance in which she was named MVP of the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase against Seton Hall with a season-high 24 points, 19 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists and a block. It was her country-leading 11thth double-double. She also leads the nation with 14.1 rebounds per game and has grabbed 15+ boards in four straight.

The Chicago native, who played his first two seasons at DePaul, continues to climb the all-time leaderboard. Her 85 career double-doubles rank no. 6 in NCAA DI history. She is eight double-doubles shy of holding the no. 2 the square; Courtney Paris (Oklahoma) holds the record with 128. Morrow has also climbed into the top-25 in career rebounds in NCAA DI, currently with 1,412 career rebounds. She is putting together one of the best careers in women’s college basketball history.

“I want to be one percent better than I was the day before,” Morrow said. “I’m working towards it just to reach my goals. I want to set a standard not only for myself but for my teammates.”

Morrow starred in high school at Simeon, a school known for producing top men’s players like Derrick Rose and Jabari Parker. She is the most notable women’s basketball player out of Simeon. She led Simeon to its first girls basketball championship with a 25-2 record while averaging 28.4 points, 14.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists. Coming out of high school and being recruited in the midst of Covid, Morrow decided to stay in Chicago and play at DePaul. She was named National Freshman of the Year and stayed there through her sophomore season before transferring to LSU.

She has nearly 40 friends and family who will be at Credit 1 Union Arena Thursday night. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and fans can listen to Patrick Wright and Shaeeta Williams on the LSU Sports Radio Network.

“It’s not always easy to bring them home, but we try,” coach Kim Mulkey said. “There is something in your heart; I remember when I was a player, I always wanted to go home and play in front of people who watched me grow up.”

Earlier in December, LSU had a homecoming game for Mikaylah Williams in Bossier City, Louisiana. Last season, LSU traveled to Baltimore to play Coppin State for Angel Reese’s homecoming game.

Mikaylah Williams was also a key player in LSU’s win over Seton Hall with 22 points, 6 made threes, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Her six threes are tied for eighth-most in program history in a single game and helped LSU remain undefeated to post its fifth-best start in program history.

Thursday’s game at UIC will be LSU’s first true road game of the season; The Tigers are 4-0 in neutral games.