St. Viator's Morrisey makes splash with return to action
St. Viator junior guard Emma Morrisey would prefer making a splash by splashing 3-pointers.
The splash she made last July was painful and did not include a basketball.
She jumped into a pool and clanked. She dislocated her right foot, broke her fibula in three places and tore two ligaments.
"It was a long drive to the hospital," Morrisey said. "I was in pain. It ended up being like three hours before I got my foot relocated because I was up in Lake Geneva and I live out in Hoffman Estates so I went to a hospital out by me."
She couldn't walk for 12 weeks after having surgery, then needed a second operation in October. She says she was "hoping" to play basketball this winter.
Wednesday night at Antioch, her comeback continued. Playing in her fourth game of the season, she scored a season-high 12 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to help No. 7 St. Viator put away the host Sequoits 61-39 in the teams' Class 3A regional semifinal.
"I just had to keep fighting [to come back this season]," Morrisey said after shooting 4 of 5 from three-point range. "I feel good. The first couple of games I was really nervous, but after that I just shook it off and got back into the swing of things."
The victory earned St. Viator (12-16) a berth in Friday's 7 p.m. regional final against No. 2 Vernon Hills (19-10), which beat the Lions in double overtime in mid-December.
"It's going to be a heck of a game on Friday night, especially if (St. Viator) shoots as well as they did tonight," said Antioch coach Tim Borries, whose 11th-seeded Sequoits finished 13-16. "It seems like everybody brings their 'A' game shooting against us."
Led by Morrisey, St. Viator drained 11 3-pointers (on 22 attempts). Aubrey Horbach knocked down a pair of 3s and scored 8 points, as did Nora Ahram. Sophomore Joy Bergstrom scored 10 of her game-high 16 points in the first half for St. Viator, which led 11-4 after one quarter and 30-16 at the break.
"I liked the way we came out with our focus and intensity level in the first half," Lions coach Jason Raymond said. "That's something that we've been trying to sustain throughout the year. I thought, for the most part, we did that tonight."
Morrisey was the varsity's second-leading scorer behind Bergstrom last season. She drew a starting assignment against Antioch.
"She spreads the floor for us," Raymond said. "Obviously she's not 100 percent. She just got cleared in January for full contact. She's worked hard to get back and she's starting to get her legs underneath her."
Antioch junior Erin Miller scored a team-high 11 points, including a 3-pointer, coming off the bench. Sophomore center Avery Larson had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Sequoits, who started only one senior in Molly Volkmar (7 points).
"Erin Miller made huge strides down the stretch late in the season," Borries said. "Ally Pierce (junior guard) didn't score, but she got on (No.) 22 (Bergstrom) and she did a heck of a job on her. Ally came in there with energy, and she's quick and fast."
Despite playing in the rugged East Suburban Catholic Conference and toughening up its nonconference schedule this season, St. Viator did not receive a high seed.
"We were surprised when we got the (No.) 7 seed, but it doesn't matter anymore," Morrisey said. "We're just going to go out there and play our game."