Cunningham Named One of Eight Finalists for USBWA National Freshman of the Year
3/16/2016 9:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Columbia native was named SEC Freshman of the Year by the league's coaches and Associated Press
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Mizzou freshman guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) was named one of eight finalists for the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) National Freshman of the Year, it was announced Monday. Cunningham was named SEC Freshman of the Year by the league's head coaches and The Associated Press. She was a second-team All-SEC selection by the coaches and an honorable mention All-SEC pick by the AP.
Cunningham, the first player in SEC history to receive six Freshman of the Week awards and first SEC Freshman of the Year in program history, averages a team-leading 13.5 points per game after starting all 30 contests. She also ranks second on the team in rebounding (5.9) and assists (3.0) per game and third in steals (1.0) per contest. She has scored in double figures 19 times and finished with 20-plus points on eight occasions during the 2015-16 season.
Her .502 field goal percentage is the eighth-highest in program career history. Through her first 30 games, Cunningham is shooting 50 percent (136-for-271) from the field, 36 percent (34-for-94) from 3-point range and 82 percent (99-for-121) from the free throw line. In only her fourth career game, she set a program record with 42 points vs. Wake Forest on Nov. 22, 2015.
She ranks 10th in the SEC in points per game (13.5) and is the only freshman in the league's top 24 in scoring. Cunningham ranks second in points (405) and made free throws (99), third in assist-to-turnover ratio (+19) and ranks seventh in rebounds (176) by a freshman in Mizzou Women's Basketball history. She ranks fourth in the SEC in free throw percentage (81.8) and is tied for 10th in assists (3.0).
.@sophaller has been named 1 of 8 finalists for the @USBWA National Freshman of the Year! #MizzouMade #MIZ ?????? pic.twitter.com/ky9pH0mnni
— Mizzou Basketball (@MizzouWBB) March 15, 2016
– MIZZOU –
