Cunningham's 27 Leads Tigers Over No. 4 Defending Champs, 83-74

Sunday, January 7

Columbia, Mo.

1:00 p.m. CT

University of Missouri

14-2 (2-1)

South Carolina

13-2 (2-1)

South Carolina

No. 15 Mizzou

Cunningham's 27 Leads Tigers Over No. 4 Defending Champs, 83-74

1/7/2018 4:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Tigers defeat Gamecocks for second straight year at home

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Behind a game-high 27 points from junior Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.), the No. 15-ranked Mizzou Women's Basketball team defeated No. 4 South Carolina, 83-74, Sunday afternoon at Mizzou Arena. It's the second straight year the Tigers (14-2, 2-1 SEC) have beaten the Gamecocks, and Mizzou is now responsible for two of the defending champion's last three losses.

In a matchup of two of the nation's top players, the Tigers held South Carolina's leading scorer, A'ja Wilson, to just eight points and six rebounds. She entered the contest averaging 27.8 points and 11.4 rebounds per game.

Turning Point

Mizzou fell behind 21-18 in the second quarter before a layup by Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) and a three-point bucket by Jordan Roundtree (St. Louis, Mo.) put the Tigers in the lead, 23-21. The Tigers would never trail again. In the second half, Mizzou's offense exploded behind Cunningham's 16 second-half points. The Tigers finished the game shooting 71.4 percent from the field in the fourth quarter and outrebounded South Carolina (13-2, 2-1 SEC), 34-26.

Top Tigers

Cunningham posted 27 points, six rebounds, and seven assists, marking the second time this season she has posted at least 10 points, five assists, and five rebounds. She now has nine such games in her career.
Cunningham posted 25+ points for the fifth time this season, and for the 13th time in her career.
Cunningham's great run against the Gamecocks continued, as she is averaging 26.5 points, six assists, and 6.5 rebounds against South Carolina over the teams' last two meetings. South Carolina was ranked inside the top-7 both games.
Smith registered her first double-double of the season and the second of her career, posting 20 points and 12 rebounds against South Carolina. Her only previous career double-double came last season against Arkansas (2/12/17).
The 20-point outburst from Smith marked her second straight game with 20 points, as the sophomore guard dropped 27 against LSU last time out (1/4/18). It is the best two-game scoring stretch of her career.
Junior forward Cierra Porter (Columbia, Mo.) scored in double-digits for the ninth time this season, chipping in with 11 points in 29 minutes played. Mizzou is 8-1 this season when Porter scores 10 or more.
Redshirt sophomore forward Hannah Schuchts (Tallahassee, Fla.) tied her career high with a pair of 3-pointers made.

Notes

With the win against No. 4 South Carolina, Mizzou registered the fourth win in program history against an AP top-four opponent. The Tigers' last such victory came in a 64-60 win against No. 4 Baylor on Jan. 4, 2006.
With the win, Mizzou moves to 3-1 against South Carolina in Mizzou Arena, while moving the overall series record against the Gamecocks to 5-5.
Mizzou outrebounded the Gamecocks 34-26, marking the 14th time in 16 games played this season that the Tigers have outrebounded their opponent. The Tigers move to 12-2 in such games.
The Tigers scorched the nets from downtown, shooting a season-best 61.5 percent (8/13) from behind the three-point line.
Mizzou's ball movement was excellent against South Carolina, as the Black & Gold dished 20 assists as a team. It is the third time the Tigers registered 20+ assists as a team this season, and was their first such performance in conference play.