Waubonsie Valley senior forward Elliana Morris was disappointed when coach Brett Love gave her the news on the eve of the playoffs two weeks ago.
Love told Morris, who had started every game after senior guard Maya Cobb suffered a torn ACL early in the season, that junior guard Syncere Williams was replacing her in the starting lineup.
“I’m always honest with her, and we’re a family,” Love said. “Whoever is needed at the time, that’s who steps up.”
Love made the move because Williams had played well off the bench since being cleared to play in January, eight months after she had ACL surgery.
Morris accepted the change.
“I got my starting spot taken away, but Syncere is a great defender, and she was doing a great job of scoring, and I was just not doing that at a point,” Morris said. “I remember in our group chat, coach Love sent a reel, and I was talking about ‘always be ready no matter what.’
“I watched that, and I took that to heart and really used that because you never know when your name is going to get called. When it is called, you have to be ready to step up.”
Love called on Morris when senior guard Arie Garcia-Evans picked up her second foul with 1:20 left in the first quarter of the Class 4A Lyons Supersectional on Monday night. The Warriors trailed Nazareth 14-3 and appeared in danger of getting blown out.
But Morris, a Lewis soccer commit, began the second quarter by making a steal and hitting three consecutive 3-pointers. Illinois State-bound senior guard Danyella Mporokoso, who entered the game with 2,970 career points, assisted on two of those baskets and then scored on a baseline jumper to give the Warriors a 19-17 lead.
Nazareth eventually pulled away late to win 54-42, but not before Morris and junior guard Maya Pereda, who each scored 12 points, gave them a tough battle. Morris also had a team-high five rebounds and four steals.
“We weren’t going to let Danyella beat us, so we had to give up something,” Nazareth coach Eddie Stritzel said. “We knew (Morris) was a good shooter. We didn’t know she was going to be that good.
“But our goal was to not let Danyella beat us. I thought for the most part we did that. We held Waubonsie to their season low in points, so we’re thrilled about that.”
Mporokoso was limited to 10 shots and finished with nine points, four rebounds and four assists in the final game of her illustrious career for Waubonsie Valley (32-4). Her 2,979 points established school and DuPage County scoring records.
While the Roadrunners (33-3) succeeded in slowing Mporokoso, they were in a fight well into the fourth quarter. The Warriors led 29-25 on a jumper by Williams at the 6:36 mark of the third.
Like Mporokoso, Nazareth star senior forward Stella Sakalas, a BYU recruit, was held to nine points, although she led all players with 11 rebounds and eight assists. Her jumper gave the Roadrunners a three-point lead, but Morris drove and converted a three-point play to tie the game at 37-37 with 6:46 left in the fourth quarter.
“She was ready to play this game,” Love said of Morris. “She stepped up and hit some big shots.”
Morris said doing so gave her a great feeling. But after Nazareth answered her last basket with a decisive 17-3 run, she was left a little empty.
“I had never been in an environment like this before, and so it was really cool to experience that,” Morris said. “But looking back, it wasn’t enough.
“At the end of the game, when I looked up at the scoreboard and we lost. … I would rather win then be able to experience that (individual success).”
That attitude didn’t go unnoticed by Morris’ teammates.
“I’m honestly just so proud of Eli and all the work that she has put in,” Pereda said. “Soccer is her main sport, and then being able to come play basketball with us and the competitive team and the goals we have and be able to positively improve that and contribute to that, I’m so proud of her, especially being able to come into a tough game today.”
Pereda said Morris and the other seniors were great role models.
“I’m just so fortunate to have the senior class that we have now,” Pereda said. “They’ve taught me so many lessons on how to be a scorer in different ways but also how to be a leader on the team.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
