If All-American teams were determined by the amount of pride shown in representing their school, Morton College's Jacquelin Magallanes would certainly be a consensus choice. She's the Caitlin Clark of walk-ons.

The sophomore walk-on women's basketball player from Berwyn plays sparingly.  She appears when the Panthers have the game well in hand. She started just once in her two years with that coming on Sophomore Night this season against Elgin as a reward by coach Jeff Bambule for Magallanes' undying loyalty to the program.

"Jackie is a great kid," Bambule said, "and she's a leader on this team. She has a voice and the other players listen to her."

Magallanes got a taste of national action, appearing briefly in the second quarter of Morton College's 86-57 win over Lincoln Land this afternoon in Joplin, MO. She reappeared in the fourth quarter, scoring Morton College's final points on an and-one, setting off a round of "Jackies" from her teammates and a blatant violation of the unwritten code of "no cheering in the press box."
She banked in the free throw to give her a career-high of three points. Magallanes later nearly doubled her point total by banking in a three-pointer, but it was waved off because of a shot-clock violation.

Magallanes took not getting the basket in typical fashion.

"It was just a nice experience," Magallanes said. "I didn't know if it was going to go in or not. I heard the girls from the bench counting down, so I was going to shoot it and pray it goes in. It didn't make it in time as the horn went off."

Magallanes is respected by all her teammates. NJCAA All-America candidate and Skyway Player of the Year Brynne Katcher says of Magallanes, "She just always has a great attitude about everything. While she doesn't play a lot, Jackie has a great attitude about the team. She's there to pick people up and bring energy to the team. It's really inspiring."

The Morton West High School graduate takes great pride in being part of a program that is 66-5 with a pair of conference and Region IV crowns the past two years. The end comes tomorrow when Morton College takes on Iowa Western in the NJCAA Division II national tournament's fifth-place game.

"It's been great," Magallanes said. "I came in as a walk-on. This has been an amazing opportunity. Just coming out of high school, I didn't think I was going to be able to play again. So to be able to be here and play at the college level at this elite program has been amazing. It's something I've never experienced before and I'll be forever thankful."