COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women's Basketball senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) was one of 30 candidates selected for the 2018-19 Senior CLASS Award, announced by the award organization Friday. The award recognizes NCAA Division I seniors who have notable achievements in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition.
The Senior CLASS Award, an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, focuses on the total student-athlete, and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. The candidate field of 30 will be narrowed down to 10 finalists for the official ballot in February. From there, a voting system which consists of media, coaches and fans will decided the final winner.
The Senior CLASS Award nomination adds to the growing list of accolades Cunningham has been selected for the 2018-19 season. Cunningham has also been named to the watch list for three national awards, as she was also named to the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award (Oct. 24), the Wooden Award (Nov. 7) and the Naismith Trophy watch lists. Cunningham was also tabbed Preseason All-SEC first team by the league's coaches (Oct. 30) and media members (Oct. 16).
Through seven games, Cunningham is leading Mizzou in scoring and rebounding with 15.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. In Mizzou's win over Quinnipiac, Cunningham scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to record her 10th career double-double. With 1,671 points, Cunningham moved into fifth-place in career scoring at Mizzou, and is the active leader in scoring in the Southeastern Conference.
Last season, Cunningham earned AP All-America Honorable Mention and All-SEC First Team honors for the second consecutive season after averaging 18.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. She was the only player in the nation to shoot better than 54 percent from the field (54.2 percent, 186-for-343), 45 percent from three (45.7 percent, 69-for-151) and 83 percent from the free throw line (83.6 percent, 133-for-159). Cunningham was also named to the 2018 SEC Community Service Team after her heavy involvement in the Columbia community.
Mizzou hits the road to face West Virginia in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Sunday, Dec. 3. Tipoff from Morgantown, W. Va., is slated for 4 p.m. CT.
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