15-year-old with special needs praised for scoring in final minutes of basketball game

ROCK HILL, S.C. — A student with special needs stole the show by helping her team score big in the last minutes of a major basketball game Wednesday night.

Morgan Buechlein, 15, is a freshman at Nation Ford High School in Fort Mill.

She has a neurological disorder, and got the chance to play with her basketball team during playoffs.

Despite many challenges, she has excelled in basketball.

Morgan’s father, Nathan Buechlein, said his daughter has worked hard to accomplish things others may take for granted.

“She’s had to go through years of therapy just to get her to walk and all thing she’s able to do now was such a struggle for her in the beginning, said Nathan Buechlein.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO BELOW:

HEARTWARMING VIDEO: Fort Mill student shoots basketball, crowd goes wild

In a video taken at the game, you can see the crowd erupt after Morgan made the show-stopping plays. Since then, the video has gained attention across the country, including from the NBA and ESPN.

No one understood the significance of the moment better than Morgan’s family.

“Her primary diagnosis is called Dandy-Walker Syndrome,” her mother, Emily Buechlein, said. “It’s very rare -- it’s a neurological disorder.”

Morgan has persevered.

Her athletic ability caught the attention of Nation Ford’s basketball coach when she was in the eighth grade.

“(The coach) reached out to us and said, ‘I love her passion for the game and I want to make her an honorary Falcon,’” Emily Buechlein said.

Morgan’s been on the team and at every practice.

At Wednesday’s game, the entire arena was on Morgan’s team when there were three minutes left and the coach put her on the court.

“Why not end it like we stated, a unified team surrounded around Morgan,” coach Coretta Ferguson-Richmond said.

Morgan was ready, scoring back-to-back buckets, even stealing the ball from her opponent, Rock Hill High School senior Jada Jones.

“Special moments like these definitely show that sports are more than just two teams competing against each other,” Jones said.

“To see other girls on another team who don’t know Morgan, to react like that and to want Morgan to have that experience, that’s when you know this world is changing for the better,” Morgan’s father said.

Nation Ford High lost the game against Rock Hill, but it was a winning moment for the Buechleins.

©2022 Cox Media Group