Sophie's Story Part 1: Sophie's Decision
1/1/2019 4:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
Sophie Cunningham surged onto the sports scene with a ferocious competitiveness unequaled by her peers. She was a gifted young athlete with the ability to overpower opponents.
She was five-years-old.
"She was big for her age, and she played up to her sister's level in soccer," said Sophie's mom, Paula Cunningham. "We had to carry her birth certificate to games because everyone thought she was a lot older."
Lindsey Cunningham was two and a-half years older than her sister when Sophie joined her squad.
"She was in kindergarten, and it was amazing to see her dominate on the soccer field," Paula said. "Some parents thought she was too aggressive, too rough. But I don't know what to tell you —she was playing against boys."
So began the cycle of Sophie's athletic career. In every sport she played, almost always against older competition, she was the most advanced athlete on the field.
***
For almost a decade, Jim Cunningham drove his daughters to Columbia Catholic School and walked them to the door each day. Little did people know, he was holding the future of the Missouri women's basketball program in his hands.
Lindsey liked structure and responsibility. Sophie was more of a free spirit. They both excelled at sports, especially soccer, volleyball and basketball.
Initially, Lindsey was the best player on her team in every sport she played. But then little sister started to share and eventually grab the spotlight. Having a younger sister invade your space and play on your teams might annoy some, but not Lindsey.
"I've always been very proud of Sophie, and it never bothered me to have her on the team," Lindsey said.
In school sports, athletes weren't allowed to "play up," and Sophie was the unquestioned leader of her CCS teams.
"The first time I saw her dribble a basketball, you could tell she was going to be special," said Kate Harry, the CCS athletic director. "She was so naturally gifted."
Amy Gundy was an assistant coach of the CCS seventh-grade team that went undefeated.
"She was the superstar, but she took the entire team along with her," Gundy said. "She was a fun leader. There's nothing she couldn't do."
"Sophie played with a flair and confidence that made her stand out from the other girls," added Harry. "She was never a selfish player, but made her teammates better with good passing and excellent court vision."
In the final game of her eighth-grade season, Sophie finally met an opponent who could match her on the court. Lewis and Clark middle school in Jefferson City featured a superstar of its own named Napheesa Collier. She became a McDonald's All-American and now stars for Geno Auriemma's Connecticut Huskies. Cunningham and Collier went back and forth, a game within the game, each trying to outduel the other. In the end, their individual stats were almost even, Collier's team won by one point.
"I was so mad. We came so close to finishing our CCS career undefeated," Sophie said. "Still, it was pretty special. No team at our school had done what we had accomplished."
***
With her middle school career in the books, Sophie hit the AAU circuit playing with some of the top high school talent in Missouri. It was that summer when coaches began to pay attention.
"We would be in warmups, and I would start dribbling drills, basic Figure Eights and stuff like that, just dribbling with both hands and never looking down," Sophie said. "Pretty soon, a crowd would gather, and I could hear people say, 'That's her. That's Sophie Cunningham.' "
Sophie enjoyed the attention. She was getting a lot of it.
Robin Pingeton was getting a lot of attention, too. After she was hired as Missouri's women's basketball coach, word got to her quickly that one of the state's best was right under her nose.
"Everyone talks about locking down the borders of your state when it comes to recruiting," Pingeton said. "I had to lock down the borders of our community."
Pingeton's first letter to Sophie caught her attention. They chatted at Missouri's summer camp.
"She told me about her vision for the program and how she wanted me to be a part of it," Sophie said. "I could relate to everything she was saying and what she wanted to accomplish. There was an immediate connection. I can remember leaving Mizzou Arena that day, I just had goosebumps."
Pingeton was also recruiting Lindsey Cunningham, who was preparing for her senior year at Rock Bridge High School.
"We made it clear we were recruiting them separately," explained Pingeton. "They each had their own strengths"
Jim and Paula had done their best to balance the attention directed toward their daughters. But in this case, the situation was out of their control. Eventually both were offered full-ride scholarships.
"You get to do this as sisters," Paula told them. "You will never have a better teammate than each other."
"To this day, I've never played with a better point guard," said Sophie. "Lindsey just knows the game so well. She is a tremendous leader."
Pingeton successfully locked down the Columbia community when the Cunningham sisters committed. Her nieces Bri and Cierra Porter eventually committed, too, and the Tigers base was in place. For Sophie, it was time to focus on high school.
***
Jill Nagel was busy building a girls basketball powerhouse when freshman Sophie showed up at Rock Bridge. Teamed with the Porter sisters and her own sister, Lindsey, Sophie started another impressive run. Rock Bridge won the first of four straight Class 5 state titles in her first year.
Even though she was committed to Missouri, college coaches kept calling.
Jimmy Dykes was the head coach at Arkansas, and he remembers seeing Sophie play for the first time on the AAU circuit.
"I watched her for 10 minutes, and I told my staff that she has to be our No. 1 focus," Dykes said. "When I heard she was already committed to Mizzou, I was aggravated. Not only was I not going to get her, we were going to have to compete against her in the conference."
As her high school career continued, Sophie's reputation grew to national prominence. She became the all-time scoring leader at Rock Bridge with 1,983 points and finished her career with a combined record of 102-18. She was named the 2014 Gatorade Missouri Girls Basketball Player of the Year and was recognized as a McDonald's All-American. She carried herself with the confidence of a competitor who rarely lost at anything. When the Rock Bridge football team's kicker got hurt midway through the 2014 season, Sophie joined the team and kicked extra points.
Sophie was the first McDonald's All-American Robin Pingeton would get to coach. She just had to make sure her commitment was secure.
"We never stopped recruiting her even after the commitment," Pingeton said. "The good thing is she was always around. She came to our games; we went to hers. More than anything, we trusted her and believed she would keep her word."
And she did.
"I grew up as a Tiger," Sophie said. "My family and I have always been Mizzou fans. I can remember the Missouri basketball players coming to CCS and reading to our class. I always thought that would be cool to be able to do some day.
"Nothing felt like Mizzou. It was my choice. It was home."
