Another Morast on guard for Stonehill

By Jim Fenton, Enterprise staff writer

EASTON - There was no need to give Kim Morast a rundown on the history of Stonehill College women's basketball when she was being recruited.

The Bridgewater resident, now a senior guard for the Skyhawks, had a front-row seat for some of the program's glory days during the 1990s.

Morast's older sister, Kristen, was a senior guard on the 1993-94 team that reached the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Div. 2 tournament.

At the age of 9, Morast attended a majority of Stonehill's games that season and made the trip to North Dakota for the national tourney.

"I'd go to the games all the time," said Morast. "I was young at the time, and I used to go out onto the court and shoot at halftime of games."

Since the 2003-04 season, Morast has been doing her shooting before and after the halftime breaks at Merkert Gym as an important member of Stonehill's successful team.

Following in the footsteps of sister Kristen, who recently entered the school's Athletic Hall of Fame, Kim is in her third season as a starter after being the first player used off the bench as a freshman.

The 2003 Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School graduate has helped Stonehill go 70-31, including 49-25 in the Northeast-10 Conference, since the start of the 2003-04 season.

The 5-foot-6 Morast contributes in a variety of ways - with defense, leadership and timely baskets.

"When you talk about Kim, you have to talk about her competitiveness," said Skyhawks coach Trisha Brown, whose team hosts Saint Anselm College today at 5:30. "She has brought that to our team since her freshman year, and it has really made a difference.

"She was the first one off the bench in her freshman year, and one of the things that impressed me then was how well she had prepared herself for that season."

Morast, the most valuable player of the Old Colony League as a senior at B-R, averaged 4.1 points, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals for a team that went 21-8 in 2003-04.

"I worked hard that summer," said Morast. "Coming in that first year, it really paid off."

Said Brown, "I think it was a surprise that she came in and played like she did freshman year. I didn't think she'd make an impact so quickly, but she got some good minutes that year."

After making a smooth transition from high school to the difficult NE-10, Morast moved into the starting lineup as a sophomore, averaging 7.4 points, 4.1 assists and 1.9 steals (second on the team).

"You never know going in how it's going to work out," said Morast of her first year as a starter. "I worked on my shooting and getting faster, and it just worked out for me."

Last season, she scored 8.4 points per game to go with 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals on a team that was 24-7 overall and finished second in the conference at 17-5.

"I just had to get stronger and be more competitive last year," said Morast, whose older sister was one of her AAU coaches. "I think I became a better defensive player, too."

Defense has been an important part of the package for Morast at Stonehill as she often handles the difficult assignments.

Brown knows that when an opposing player has to be stopped, she can turn to Morast to take care of the job.

"She is a great defensive player," said Brown. "It's because of her toughness and her intensity. She has that ability to make big plays."

Said Morast, "The thing I like about defense is just getting matched up with one of the best players. It's something I really like to do."

The biggest play Morast has made so far this season came at the offensive end against rival Bentley College on Dec. 9.

Morast hit a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining to cap a comeback from a 17-point second-half deficit and give Stonehill a 57-55 victory.

Freshman Megan Methven stole an inbounds pass with 7.6 seconds to go and threw a pass to Morast in the corner for the game-winning shot.

Morast has worked on her outside shooting and has shown improvement the past two seasons, giving her another weapon. Morast was third on the team a year ago with 29 3-pointers and is second this season with 18.

Through 13 games, Morast is averaging 8.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals, helping the Skyhawks to an 11-2 start.

"I think I've become a better offensive threat," said Morast, who scored more than 900 points at B-R and has 687 at Stonehill. "It's always been there. It's more important now that I'm a senior. I shot as much as I could this summer to improve."

Morast will be the fourth daughter of Jack and Fran Morast to graduate from Stonehill, joining Kerry and Karla (who served as a manager for the women's basketball team) who earned degrees after Kristen.

Before receiving her diploma in May, Morast would like to have the kind of success her older sister did in the 1990s when Stonehill made a run at the national title.

"It was an exciting time," she said. "I got to go out to North Dakota. All the parents really got into it. We had a big group. It'd be fun to do that.

"It's crazy to think I'm a senior. I can't believe it. I can still remember being a freshman."

Not to mention all the times spent as a youngster shooting at halftime of Stonehill games.