Brittany Morrison wants to be scoring insurance for the UB women’s basketball team.
If the Bulls (6-0) miss a shot, three, or layup, the sophomore power forward wants to be there.
Morrison has garnered a reputation amongst her teammates and coaches as a ruthless rebounder, despite being undersized. Morrison’s rebounding plays a fundamental part in the team's success, not just for second chance points, but for team confidence.
“Rebounding is my thing,” Morrison said. “I just want to be the foundation for the team and do the dirty work. We want to be relentless on the boards so the guards feel confident in their shot.”
It is that confidence that Morrison looks to preserve every time she goes out and plays. She makes up half of the core rebounders alongside junior center Cassie Oursler. They both want the guards trust them to get the board when they miss. Morrison sets goals for herself every time she plays.
Morrison is a 5’ 9” power forward and she is often outsized. Morrison knows she is undersized and feels many players underestimate her because of it.
“It starts a fire underneath me. When I hear people think I am not capable of doing certain things, it makes me go harder to prove them wrong,” Morrison said.
That fire is essential to Morrison’s game and she knows that if she doesn’t outwork and outmuscle her opponent, she will not get the results she wants.
But as the season goes on, she has not gotten the results she wants.
“I know what my best is… and I haven’t gotten the start I was looking to have. I want to do better then freshman year and with each game it is getting better,” Morrison said.
The key to start getting the results she wants is to focus on fundamentals. If Morrison can effectively box out and push back, then she feels her goals for the season can be reached.
“I hope every game is a double-double on the boards. Just three offensive boards is not good enough for me… Second chance points are key, that is why the coaches are so big on us rebounding,” Morrison said.
Head coach Felisha Legette Jack said Morrison plays “monster strong at the board.” Even though Jack knows she is capable, she always expects more from her.
“They have two choices, they get the rebound or they get benched. That is what they are here for and our guards are so confident that they are going to be there for them, or die trying,” Jack said.
That die trying mentality is what Morrison prides herself on, but she didn’t always have it.
When Morrison first arrived in UB, she was dealing with the adjustment process. She had not yet found the confidence in herself to start playing to her fullest. That confidence came to her when she started to believe that she was good enough to play at that level. Morrison realized this through her rebounding ability. Once she started going after the ball, she was ready.
“I expect it from all of our players, I just think that everybody has the green light to be something significant,” Jack said.
Morrison made the most of her green light when she moved up to the starting power forward position last season. But that doesn’t stop her from trying to get better. Morrison is trying to develop a better understanding on how a ball will bounce off the board and the rim quicker.
“I have to make sure that every practice I am working hard and earning my spot. I have to set goals for myself, in practice my goal is to go hard 100 percent of the time,” Morrison said.
Now with Morrison struggling to get the results she wants, it will be interesting to see how she adjusts.
To Morrison, it is a matter of staying real with herself while taking “baby steps” to get her game there.
“I’m very tough on myself,” Morrison said. “But I will always strive for greatness and I won’t stop until my better is my best.”
The Bulls play their next game on Dec. 8 at Canisius.
Thomas Zafonte is a sports staff writer and can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com
Thomas Zafonte is a senior English major. He is a UB sports fan and enjoys traveling around Buffalo.
