Jill Morrison '91 was named Forester Athlete of the Week on Thursday for her helping lead her team to three straight victories early in the 1988-89 season.
After starting the year with three non-conference wins, Lake Forest began Midwest Athletic Conference for Women play with an 82-49 rout of visiting Ripon College on Saturday, December 3. Morrison led all players in the contest with 17 points, all of which were scored during the first 27 minutes of the game.
Morrison earned game-high honors again two nights later in the team's 66-35 triumph at Aurora University. The sophomore guard poured in 23 points in the first 32 minutes and tied a team record with nine steals on the evening.
The Foresters traveled to Rosary College on Thursday and left with a dramatic 89-87 victory and, at 6-0, the best start in the history of the program. Morrison shot 15-for-22 from the field, knocked down four of five shots from the foul line, and scored the final basket of the game in the final 30 seconds to finish with a career-high 34 points. She also added five rebounds, four assists, and four steals on the night.
Lake Forest went on to set a school record with 15 victories in 1988-89. That mark, as well as the six-game season-opening winning streak, was broken a year later when the Foresters won their first nine games during an 18-6 campaign that included the program's first appearance in the four-team conference tournament.
No Forester has ever surpassed nine steals in a contest and Morrison also set the program's single-game marks for assists (13 against Marian University on November 19) and points (44 at Ripon on February 4) that season. The assist mark was finally matched 25 years later and she still owns the only 40-point game in team annals. Her 23.6 points per game in 1988-89 are still a school record and she is the program's career leader in points (1,883) and points per game (20.9) while ranking third in rebounds (608), assists (326), and steals (219); fourth in field goal percentage (.519), and fifth in free throw percentage (.810). Morrison appears 45 times on the program's list of the top 10 game, season, and career statistical performances.
Morrison was a four-time First Team All-MACW North Division selection and was a Kodak Regional All-American each of her last three seasons. She was also voted the Foresters' Most Valuable Player three times and captained the team as a junior and senior. She also lettered three times in volleyball and once in softball while at the College. Morrison was inducted into the Lake Forest College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001, her first year of eligibility.
Jill Morrison Hirsch Hall of Fame Bio | Forester Women's Basketball Record Book
Since all Lake Forest College sporting events during the fall semester have been postponed, the Athletic Department is utilizing its archives to continue the weekly recognition of high-level performances by Foresters. The department has selected a Forester Athlete of the Week since 1996, so the honorees for the rest of 2020 will have earned the distinction at least 25 years ago.
A note of gratitude goes out to Mike Dau '58, whose tireless efforts as the department's historian has made this fall's Forester Athlete of the Week research possible.
