| Year: | 2017 |
| Team: | Women's Basketball |
Putting the ball in the basket always came naturally for Kelly (Harney) Morris. She was as accurate an outside shooter as Suffolk University has ever seen, consistently torching the nets from long range.
A four-year starter for the Rams, Morris finished her outstanding career with a total of 1,157 points, eighth on the women’s program’s all-time scoring list. When the blue and gold needed a big hoop with the game on the line, she was the player who was called upon to take the final shot.
A talented 5-6 guard, Morris was a productive team member from the first time she put on a Suffolk uniform. She scored 196, 173, 350, and 438 points each year, respectively, during her collegiate career. While scoring was her strength, she was also a good all-around, unselfish team player.
As a senior, Morris averaged 19.9 points per game and finished the season ranked 27th nationally among NCAA Women’s Basketball Division III scoring leaders. She also connected on 34 out of 78 three-point attempts for a 43.6 percentage, the ninth-highest mark among sharpshooters across the country.
On January 29, 1990, Morris scored 32 points in a 63-52 victory over Emerson College. Early in that memorable contest, she hit a 16-foot shot that enabled her to become the third woman in Rams basketball history to reach the coveted 1,000-point milestone.
In her next game, Morris scored a career-high 37 points against Norwich University. That gave her a total of 69 points in two games, making her the New England Women’s Basketball Association’s Division III Player of the Week.
During her final campaign, Morris was recognized as one of the team’s two Most Valuable Players, along with senior center Ann Christine Kruse. That same year, she was selected co-Athlete of the Year, with men’s basketball star and fellow 1,000-point scorer Ed Cirame, by the Student Government Association.
Morris has been teaching in the Lynn Public Schools system for 25 years, the last 15 as a second grade teacher at the Drewicz Elementary School, where she is also the girls’ hoop coach. “Basketball is still an important part of my life,” she said. “It’s in my blood.”
Morris lives in Lynn with her husband, John, and their two children, Brendan (19) and Abby (16).