Morris turns games into block parties
Swat team: Senior adding her name to VHSL history book
Blocked shots are not a glamour statistic, even for Gabby Morris. But she has rejected so many shots this year that she is ending her Grassfield High basketball career in a blaze of glory.
With her six rejections in the Grizzlies’ 76-46 win last Tuesday against Hickory, Morris, a 6-foot-3 senior, is up to 120 for the season. That leads the state in the MaxPreps statistical rankings.
Only four other girls in state history have more, according to the Virginia High School League record books. When Morris got to 118 — surpassing 2018 Tabb graduate Kenna Williams at No. 5 on the VHSL list — Grassfield athletic director Matt Puryear stopped the game to recognize her.
It was an honor Morris never expected for a skill that is second nature to her.
“Blocking shots is just something I do to help my teammates, so it was overwhelming,” Morris said of the ceremony. “It feels good to be recognized for what I call the dirty work.
“Good defense definitely helps your team.”
In addition to her 5.7 blocks per game, Morris is averaging eight points and 10 rebounds. Grizzlies coach Alan Jones says her contributions to an otherwise young team go far beyond her blocks.
“She is like having a coach on the floor, which is huge, because she is the only returner who played a lot last year,” he said. “When she is not blocking shots, she is altering them.
“Without her, we are not 13-8.” Morris is not feasting only in runaways like the Hickory game. Her high of nine blocks this season came in a 52-50 win over First Colonial.
She has remained effective by staying out of foul trouble. That’s important because Jones feels contact is whistled more often for fouls in girls basketball than in the boys game.
“Her timing and vision are tremendous, so she’s able to get the ball in the air without body contact,” he said. “She has a great feel for where the ball is.”
Morris says, “You can have your hand in the air and a player can still shoot over you. My ability to anticipate what a girl is going to do, and move my hand in a different direction, helps me time up shots.”
Morris has timed up 301 of them in her career. Should she get seven in the Class 6 Region A Tournament, she will became one of only six in the VHSL record book with more than 307.
While the mark of 780 career blocks, set by Angela Gorsica of Wilson Memorial in 1992, is one of the most unbreakable records in the 299-page VHSL record book, Morris might have challenged the second-place number of 477 if she’d played more games.
“Gabby only got 2 seasons,” Jones said. “She did a great job as a freshman (blocking 103 shots), but then we missed the COVID season (2020-21) and we only played 13 games a year ago because of COVID cancellations (she blocked 78 shots in 2021-22).
“For her to do what she’s done this quickly is an amazing feat.”
Morris will look to get more in the postseason, beginning with the East No. 2-seeded Grizzlies’ Class 6 Region A quarterfinal at home at 6 p.m. today against Western Branch. When the seasons ends, she will receive a game ball with her season and career block totals on it.
Another ball, with her name and block totals painted on it, will go into the Grassfield High trophy case. That’s something Morris never expected for blocking shots.
“It feels good to leave something behind for others,” said Morris, who will focus on academics at Virginia Commonwealth University. “It shows basketball is not always just about scoring points.”