Navy women’s basketball senior Morganne Andrews recently chatted with PressBox about bouncing back from a tough season last year, the player she has looked up to throughout her hoops career and more. The 6-foot-1 forward averaged 3.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game for the Mids in 2022-23. Andrews is a native of Martinsburg, W.V., and graduate of Martinsburg High School.
PressBox: How did you become interested in basketball?
Morganne Andrews: I feel like this is everyone’s story, but I used to play in the driveway with my dad when I was little. I was in and out of a bunch of different sports, and then when I was 12, I decided to actually join a team. From there, it just kind of stuck.
PB: Who was the biggest influence on your game growing up?
MA: I actually had a coach probably late middle school, early high school. He was one of my best friend’s dads, just a great dude. He name is Ronnie Fitzpatrick. He just made basketball so fun. He loved it. He would always practice with us. I wanted to play like him. I wanted to be like him. I really looked up to him, for sure.
PB: Why did you choose to go to the Naval Academy?
MA: The list is endless, I think. Just overall, it was the best option. The opportunities that you have while you’re here and when you leave are so far and wide. On top of that, the basketball program had a bunch of girls that I wanted to be with. The coaches are great. The program is great. I can’t complain about anything. I love the structure. I love what the goals of the school are. Basketball is just like the cherry on top. Being able to be here is just a blessing.
PB: Does your family have any military background?
MA: My dad, [Marcus], was in the Navy for a few years. He didn’t do a career in the Navy or anything, but he was a Seabee for about four or five years.
PB: What’s your memory from your time at Navy so far?
MA: Probably our Holy Cross game [in the Patriot League quarterfinals] two years ago when Jen Coleman got the ball, last second of the game, shot a corner three, banked it off the backboard from the corner. To this day, nobody still knows how. Banked it off, went in and we won the game. We were by far the underdogs in that game. It was just a great feeling to be a part of.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about the Naval Academy?
MA: The people. Everyone says this: You come for your own reasons, but you stay because of the people. I just have to double down on that. Everyone here is great. There’s a friend everywhere that you look, and everyone has a common goal. Nobody’s alone here. Everyone’s great, Type-A people. So overall, just a high quality group of Mids here.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about Annapolis?
MA: Downtown probably, just the energy down there is great. There are a lot of restaurants. … Everyone’s just always happy downtown and it’s great to be a part of and to be able to walk out 5 feet and be there is really cool.
PB: What kind of challenges did last season present? What lessons can be applied this year? (The Mids went 1-29 overall in 2022-23.)
MA: It was an adversity thing. Each game that we lost came with a new set of challenges and a new set of opportunities for us to work on. We had a young team, so putting all of that together, I think it taught us a lot. It brought us closer, which I was very proud of us for because a lot of teams going through that would point fingers and separate, but I think we just got closer and held each other up during those times. That’s going to make this year that much better. Now we have that foundation of trust. We know that no matter what happens, we’ve got each other. I’m excited for the year because of that.
PB: What kind of growth have you seen from the team throughout the offseason? (Three of the Mids’ top six scorers last year were freshmen.)
MA: I think experience has helped [this year’s sophomores] tremendously because you don’t know what a college basketball game is going to be like until you’re in one. It’s hard to simulate it in practice. You can try as hard as you want, but until you’re there, you don’t know what it’s like. You can see the experience in the way that they play now. They’re really college basketball players. They’re not freshmen. They know what to expect. They know the pace of the game is going to be different. They know the girls are stronger, they’re faster, and everyone on every team was their best high school player. So now they know what to expect, and I think it’s going to come together beautifully.
PB: Who’s your best friend on the team and what’s a story that underscores your friendship?
MA: My best friend on the team is probably Gia Pissott. She’s now a sophomore. Every time we’re together, no matter if one of us had a bad day or whatever it may be, we’re laughing and then everyone around us is laughing. Sometimes we don’t even have conversations because we’re laughing so hard. I just think that it’s great that we can pick each other up in that way.
PB: Who did you look up to early in your college career?
MA: Ciera Hertelendy, for sure. We played basketball in high school together. She was a senior when I was a freshman in high school, and then I got to play with her here as well. I looked up to her since my freshman year. She played my position and she was awesome. She’s a great person. I just wanted to be like her the whole time, until the day she graduated. Honestly, until this day I still want to be like her. She’s just the best.
PB: What advice would you give to younger players considering a service academy?
MA: [With] a game and a team, you’re learning to work together and you’re learning to fight for something that’s bigger than yourself. That’s exactly what this school is, too. Days are going to be hard. You’re going to get down on yourself and things are going to be challenging every once in awhile. But at the end of the day, you’re fighting for something that’s much bigger than you. If you remember that, it makes you work that much harder and keeps you locked in and bought into the process.
PB: What are your goals for after basketball, whenever it ends?
MA: I want to commission into the Marine Corps as a pilot. If I get the opportunity to do that, to make it through [The Basic School] and make it through flight school and hopefully just be the best Marine Corps officer I can be.
Photo Credit: Phil Hoffmann/Navy Athletics