Team 2017-18 Nebraska Women's Basketball

Honors & Awards

  • Nebraska Most Improved Player (2018)
  • Academic All-Big Ten (2018)
  • Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award (2018)
  • Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2016, 2017; Spring 2017)
  • Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2017, 2018)
  • Third-Team All-MAC (2016)
  • MAC All-Defensive Team (2016)
  • MAC All-Freshman Team (2014)
  • All-Minnesota (HM, 2013)

Senior (2017-18)
Janay Morton helped the Huskers as a fifth-year senior in 2017-18. After sitting out 2016-17 as a transfer from Eastern Michigan, the former All-Mid-American Conference guard underwent foot surgery prior to the start of 2017-18. She missed nearly three months of practice and NU’s first six games before making her debut in a limited role against Clemson (Nov. 30).

Morton played just 47 total minutes over Nebraska's first 16 games in 2017-18 while trying to recover from offseason foot surgery. She scored six total points in 26 total minutes before missing back-to-back games at San Jose State (Dec. 17) and Florida Atlantic (Dec. 19) with a recurrence of pain in her foot. Morton was limited in practice as well and played just one minute in Nebraska's loss to Washington State (Dec. 22) and just two minutes in a loss to Ohio State (Dec. 28) to open Big Ten Conference play. After battling through discomfort to play seven minutes in a win over Minnesota in her home state on Dec. 31, Morton played just one minute but contributed a three in a win at Northwestern (Jan. 7).

Over the final 16 games of the season, Morton averaged 8.0 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 15.9 minutes per game. She produced all six of her double-figure scoring performances in the last 16 games, including four in Nebraska's last six contests. Over the last six games, Morton averaged 11.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.

She capped her Nebraska career with a team-high 16 points to go along with four rebounds and a steal against Arizona State (March 17) in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament at Austin, Texas. She knocked down 3-of-7 threes against the Sun Devils, while playing a season-high 24 minutes.

It followed a 15-points, four-rebound effort against No. 17 Maryland (March 3) in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Morton had her best game as a Husker with 13 points in just 14 minutes, including nine on three three-pointers in the final two minutes of the first quarter to spark a 25-1 spurt in a win at Iowa (Jan. 28). Morton's first-quarter eruption at Iowa included a buzzer-beating 35-footer to close the period. Morton helped the Huskers build better than a 30-point lead in the third quarter before cruising to a 92-74 win. She struck for 13 more on three threes at No. 13 Maryland (Feb. 25).

Morton had 12 points on 4-of-8 threes at Indiana (Feb. 17). She had 10 points in the game's final 11 minutes in a win at Illinois (Jan. 10) and nine points on three first-half threes to help the Huskers beat Wisconsin (Feb. 11). Morton contributed nine points in a Senior Night win over Penn State (Feb. 22) and eight points in a win at Michigan State (Feb. 14). She added seven big points in a nine-point win over No. 20 Iowa (Jan. 16), before pitching in six points with season highs of four assists and three steals in a win over Purdue (Jan. 24).

She finished her collegiate career with 1,486 points, 400 rebounds, 265 assists and 243 steals while knocking down 234 three-pointers.

In three seasons as a starter at Eastern Michigan, the 5-10 guard from Brooklyn Park, Minn., amassed 1,341 points, 364 rebounds, 249 assists and 223 steals. She also knocked down 203 three-pointers for the Eagles. Morton's 223 career steals ranked among the top 10 totals in Eastern Michigan history, while her 96 steals in 2015-16 marked the third-best single-season total in school history. 

In 103 games at EMU, Morton made 94 starts and scored in double figures 68 times, including 16 games with 20 or more points. She scored a career-high 34 points on two occasions.

Redshirt (2016-17)
Morton sat out the entire 2016-17 season due to NCAA transfer rules. Off the court, she earned spots on the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll in both the fall and spring semesters, while also becoming a member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.

Junior (2015-16, EMU)
Morton earned third-team All-MAC accolades and a spot on the MAC All-Defensive Team as a junior. She ranked second among the Eagles and 15th in the MAC by averaging 13.5 points per game. She led Eastern Michigan with 76 three-pointers on the season, while hitting 37.8 percent of her long-range attempts which ranked sixth in the MAC.

She also led the Eagles with a MAC-best 96 steals. No other player in the conference had more than 78 steals in 2015-16. She had six or more steals on five occasions as a junior, including a season-high seven against Texas Rio Grande Valley on Nov. 21. She had six steals in her final game as an Eagle against TCU in the second round of the Postseason WNIT, when she added 20 points and four assists, while hitting 5-of-9 three-pointers.

Morton produced double figures in each of her last five games, while knocking down 17-of-29 three-pointers (.586). She averaged 15.4 points per game and hit 50 percent (25-50) of her shots from the floor overall during the stretch.

Morton added 3.4 rebounds per contest, while dishing out 2.9 assists per game. She helped Eastern Michigan to a 22-12 overall record.

Sophomore (2014-15)
Morton was the No. 2 scorer for an Eastern Michigan team that finished with a 24-13 overall record. She averaged 12.6 points per game, while adding 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists. She also led the Eagles with 78 steals on the season, while her 2.1 steals per game ranked second in the MAC. She also ranked second among the Eagles with 63 three-pointers. She played in 37 games with 35 starts.

She matched a career best by erupting for 34 points against Central Michigan on March 7, 2015. Her effort included 13-for-13 free throw shooting. She notched her first career double-double by dishing out 10 assists in a win over Akron March 12.

Morton finished her sophomore season strong, producing double figures in nine of her final 10 games. She averaged 16.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.0 steals during the 10-game season-ending stretch, while hitting 21-of-58 threes (.362).

Freshman (2013-14, EMU)
Morton made an immediate impact as a true freshman at Eastern Michigan, ranking second on the team with 13.0 points per game. She added 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists. She played in all 32 games for the 18-14 Eagles, including 26 starts. She led EMU with 64 three-pointers, while ranking third on the team with 49 steals.

She produced seven 20-point performances as a freshman, including a career-high 34 points against Buffalo on Jan. 18, 2014. She hit 7-of-11 three-pointers against the Bulls. She earned MAC West Player-of-the-Week honors on Dec. 16, 2013.

High School (Osseo)
A four-time all-conference performer in basketball, Morton earned honorable-mention all-state recognition as a senior at Osseo High School in 2012-13. She scored more than 1,000 career points while helping Osseo to a state runner-up finish as a junior and a semifinal appearance as a senior. She also participated in volleyball during her high school career.

Personal
The daughter of Gregg and Tania Morton, Janay was born Oct. 3, 1994. Janay has two younger brothers, Jaden, 16, and Jaren, 14. A psychology major, Janay earned academic All-Big Ten honors in 2018. She is a three-time Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll selection. She was also a member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in 2017 and 2018.

Five Facts About Janay
1. Janay loves tennis and the Williams sisters.
2. She used to live in San Francisco.
3. Janay is obsessed with Minions.
4. She never misses an episode of The Walking Dead.
5. Janay once had a full, 1-on-1 conversation with Maya Moore.

Morton's Career Statistics

Year

G-GS

FG-FGA

Pct.

3P-3PA

Pct.

FT-FTA

Pct.

TRB-Avg.

PF-D

A

TO

Blk

ST

Pts-Avg.

2013-14 32-26 136-383 .355 64-198 .323 81-106 .764 101-3.2 51-0 54 64 7 49 417-13.0

2014-15

37-35

156-462

.338

63-202

.312

90-114

.789

141-3.8

62-0

95

97

8

78

465-12.6

2015-16

34-33

151-399

.378

76-201

.378

81-106

.764

117-3.4

61-1

100

86

3

96

459-13.5

2017-18

24-0

42-127

.331

31-86

.360

30-43

.698

41-1.7

27-0

16

15

0

20

145-6.0

Career

127-94

485-1371

.354

234-687

.341

282-369

.764

400-3.1

201-1

265

262

18

243

1,486-11.7