Sophie Cunningham was not a big name women's college basketball star prior to Sunday afternoon. She was just a local sophomore guard quietly pacing the Mizzou Tigers towards a possible NCAA Tournament berth. That all changed on Sunday afternoon, when her strong play and clutch moment helped the Tigers pull off one of the biggest upsets in school history.
Major upset
Cunningham scored 26 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists in the Mizzou victory. Despite trailing by four points entering the final quarter against the No. 6 South Carolina Gamecocks, the Tigers never appeared to have any doubt that they could steal the game on their home court.
They were aided by a strong shooting performance, doubling South Carolina's number of three-point baskets in the game.
Still, Mizzou was only tied with seconds left on the clock when Cunningham had her most heroic moment on the court yet. With time winding down, the sophomore drove towards the basket and laid a crisp and pristine layup into the basket, leading to an emphatic celebration as the team led 62-60 with just 0.6 seconds left on the clock. That would go on to be the final score of the game.
Sophie Cunningham FTW. pic.twitter.com/9EqwKdvmbw
— Andrew Kauffman (@A_Kauff) February 19, 2017
Season-changing upset
Cunningham was a highly touted prospect when she arrived at Mizzou. Last year, she won SEC Freshman of the Year and made the Second-Team All-SEC despite only being a freshman.
This year, she is averaging 17.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game while continuing to assert herself as one of the best players in the conference.
Her play this season, especially on Sunday, may have boosted Mizzou to an at-large NCAA Tournament berth. The team qualified last year and knocked off BYU in the first round, once again due to the play of Cunningham, who scored 16 points in the third quarter of the game.
It was the team's first win in the tournament since 2001. This year, the Tigers are 19-9 overall and 8-5 in the SEC. Their resume- building win on Sunday should all but ensure another trip to the Big Dance next month.
