One-point games rarely impress.

But Tracy Morgan’s performance Jan. 22 in UNCW’s 61-51 comeback win over James Madison at Trask Coliseum made observers take notice.

After all, Morgan underwent surgery for her broken nose three days earlier.

The senior forward from Cincinnati, said she felt fine during the game. She even set up guard Jennifer Kapper for a key layup in the second half.

“It wasn’t that bad. A little drugged up but… I didn’t get my tubes out until the day of the game. I wasn’t going to feel well,” said Morgan, who also scored 11 points and seven rebounds Jan. 25 in an 80-69 road win over VCU.

The whole thing was all too familiar for Morgan. When junior forward Tanika Harrison accidentally hit her in practice, Morgan endured her third broken nose as a Seahawk.

“I knew right away it was broken. You can hear a crunch,” Morgan said. “We were just playing one-on-one on the lone post… I was playing defense. She went to fake, when she fakes she kind of came back a bit.

“It’s going to happen.”

Morgan underwent a quick surgery Jan. 19 and quickly returned to the court.

“I’ve never seen anybody as tough as that girl,” UNCW coach Ann Hancock said. “(Jan. 20), the day before, she had two tubes stuck up her nose. And she looked like, I don’t know, like some sort of animal with tusks. She’s walking around with a mask the last two days. And she battles. “She said, ‘Coach, I’m going to be able to play.'”

Morgan posted no gaudy stats against JMU (one points, four rebounds and two assists), playing a key role in a key game was more than enough.

“She’s going to play as hard as she can. I think (against the Dukes), just with that broken nose, she gave us all she had,” Hancock said. “But sometimes, with a broken nose, that’s all you can do is get out there. I don’t think she was as effective, but I think she played as hard as she could and tried really hard. But if you had seen her yesterday or the day before, you’d have thought there was no way she could play.”

But Morgan played, and helped extend the Seahawks’ winning streak to four games.

“(My teammates) always tell me that I need to be put in a bubble. They always give me stuff about it,” Morgan said. “It makes it a lot easier, that they care just as much.”