2 weeks Ago By Joseph McBride
LSU forward Aneesah Morrow denied breaking her nose during Sunday's 72-65 defeat to UCLA in the NCAA Tournament , and set the record straight after playing her final game for the Tigers . Morrow was briefly forced back to the locker room during the third quarter after colliding with LSU teammate Sa'Myah Smith, and left the court holding a towel to her nose. Morrow returned for the start of the fourth quarter, but ESPN's Holly Rowe reported on the ABC broadcast that her nose had been broken.
When joining head coach Kim Mulkey at the post-game press conference , Morrow was immediately asked about her nose break and the departing senior said: "I don't know who is lying and saying that I broke my nose. My nose was bleeding. But I'm tough, and I'm going to go out there and compete with my teammates.
I'm going to try to do everything that I can." Rowe has since responded on social media, admitting that she misunderstood the diagnosis which led to the false report. "Want to correct one thing," Rowe posted on X.
"Aneesah Morrow's nose is not fractured. Heard them say it was 'busted' but I guess they meant bleeding and busted open. Lost in Southern translation.
Still a gutty performance." It was a dramatic end to Morrow's college career, as the Tigers were eliminated at the Elite Eight stage of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. Morrow will now enter the 2025 WNBA Draft, and her stock has risen following a strong March Madness performance.
Morrow closed the chapter on LSU by saying how grateful she was for the Tigers program, and thanked coach Mulkey for helping her develop as a person and as a basketball player. Morrow only spent two seasons at LSU after transferring from DePaul ahead of the 2023 season, but was emotional when reflecting on her time in Baton Rouge. "I would say, honestly, my first practice coming in here, I was up for a challenge and just seeing how much that I persevered, but not only on the basketball floor, but with my teammates," Morrow said.
"I know that they have my back and I have their back far beyond LSU, and I'm grateful for that because you don't get to experience teammates like that. "I'm just grateful for the opportunity. A lot of people don't get the opportunity that I get and that I received just to be able to come to LSU.
I feel like they helped me not only mature on the basketball floor, but as a person. And Coach Mulkey, thank you for everything. Seriously.
"Coach Mulkey challenged me to be a better person, to be a better player, and she challenged me to be able to make it in the real world. She keep it real with you, she show you how it is, and honestly, I'm just grateful for that. I said that I wanted to leave DePaul and find my second family, and I did that.
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99 a month and you can cancel anytime. "They have had my back through it all. They have encouraged me throughout the process, and I know that it was hard being away from your family and, honestly, experiencing a culture shock.
I had to grow up a lot. I put a lot on my shoulders to come out and do what I did every night. "Nobody in the country did what I did every night.
Nobody in the country has done what I did over the four years, and I'm honestly just proud of myself for overcoming as much as I've overcame and being able to do it at the biggest level." Mulkey then spoke highly of Morrow, offering WNBA teams a glowing report ahead of the draft. "You wish you had Aneesah every time you walked on a court every day because 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. And she will take this loss extremely hard because that's how she was raised.
And give me the Aneesah Morrow's of the world every day.".
