Jill Morrison 2014-15 Statistics
Games played-started - 25-25
Minutes per game - 32.6
Field goal percentage - .393
3-pointers made-attempted - 55-161
3-point percentage - .342
Free throw percentage - .824
Growing up, Jill Morrison was taller than most other players on the basketball court and scored the majority of her points close to the basket.
At 5-foot-7, Morrison was passed in height by many of her peers as her high school basketball career began. She realized the need to add the 3-point shot to her repertoire if she was going to compete with the taller players roaming the paint.
"It was something I wanted to work on, and I knew that as I got close to college," Morrison said. "I needed it, because I knew at my size I wasn't going to be a post player."
Morrison ended her senior year at Winchester Community High School with all-state honors, averaging 27.8 points, six rebounds and five assists per game. She finished her high-school career with 1,882 career points.
Her prowess from behind the arc led to her decision to continue her basketball career at Ball State.
"I was a known shooter, and it's what schools started recruiting me for," Morrison said.
Morrison joined the Cardinals and made an instant impression her freshman season, leading all first-year players on the team with an average of 7.5 points per game. Most of her work came from behind the arc, hitting 62 3-pointers while shooting .350.
Averaging 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, head coach Brady Sallee saw untapped potential that could expand beyond her 3-point shot.
"She was a phenomenal 3-point shooter in high school," Sallee said. "But I saw that if she was pushed in the right direction, would have so much more to offer and always have that 3-point shooting to fall back on."
This year has seen her step up from the bench and take on a role as a starter alongside junior Nathalie Fontaine and senior Shelbie Justice. Morrison has started all 25 of the team's games.
She is shooting 34 percent from beyond the arc and has an average of 10.8 points per game, second-best on the team. Morrison has increased her rebounding and assists averages to 3.8 and 2.8.
"It was a little nerve-racking at first, but my teammates helped me and believed in me and they gave me the confidence to step into the role like have been," Morrison said.
Though the team is constantly practicing, playing games and hitting the road, Morrison still finds time to go out before and after practices and shoot by herself, saying it is necessary to put in the extra hours to keep her shots feeling good.
She also works with Justice on their shooting stroke. Justice said whenever the two get the chance to practice together, they do what they can to get better.
"I've struggled a bit with my shots and my accuracy is not where I want it to be, so I want to keep working on my shots and hopefully it'll get to where I feel I should be," Morrison said.
At 15-10, Ball State is leading the Mid-American Conference West Division and is on its way to a top seed in the upcoming conference tournament. Morrison said she still feels like she has goals to reach and improvements to make while leading the Cardinals through the remainder of the season.
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