Senior Feature: There's Only One Sophie
3/2/2019 9:43:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Similar to other basketball greats who are commonly known on a first-name basis –– Kobe, Sue, LeBron, Tamika, Michael –– there's only one Sophie.
A do-it-all, dominant guard... a four-year starter... a two-time All-SEC selection who has logged over 4,000 game minutes... one of only three Mizzou women's basketball players to score 2,000 career points. Take your pick –– senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) has reached the pinnacle of athletic success time and time again as a Missouri Tiger.
But before she was a collegiate sensation, she was Columbia, Missouri's hometown hero. A 6-foot-1 McDonald's All-American who led Rock Bridge High School to four consecutive Class 5 state titles, Cunningham was a mid-Missouri legend long before she donned a Mizzou jersey.
As the nation's fourteenth-ranked recruit in the 2015 class, Cunningham had scholarship offers from almost every powerhouse program in the country. But the hometown hero once again came through for her beloved city... Cunningham wanted to compete 10 minutes down the road from her old high school gym for the next four years –– under the bright lights of Mizzou Arena.
The then 18-year-old Cunningham had one goal: to put Missouri women's basketball on the map. Today, she feels her vision for Robin Pingeton's ascending program is finally coming to fruition.
"For this team to reach the heights it's reaching now, it's not just been me making the effort –– it's been the people before me and the people I've played alongside," Cunningham said.
"I think we're proving ourselves every season and people are really starting to take note of what we have going on here."
Cunningham credits her go-getter mentality to her family, whom she fondly refers to as her "greatest source of inspiration." The granddaughter, daughter, niece and sister of former Tiger athletes, Cunningham feels tremendously "blessed" to have had her family's undying support throughout her collegiate career.
"My favorite part of Mizzou Arena is actually in the stands," she said. "Sections 104 and 105... those are all my people."
"A lot of people have poured time and effort into me to get where I am today, so I see it as my duty to succeed as a way of giving back to them."
As her time as a Tiger slowly winds down, the last four years –– full of celebrations, tears, laughs, grit, hugs, determination and love –– are replaying through the senior's nostalgic mind. Cunningham already knows senior day at Mizzou Arena on Sunday, March 3, will be an incredibly emotional experience.
"The hardest part is knowing I won't be in Columbia next year," she said. "These are my people, this is my town I've grown up in for 22 years and I've just given so much to this team."
"Senior day will be tough, but I'm really just trying to embrace every day that comes in my last season. The small amount of time I have left here is too precious for me to be looking ahead."
When she does hang up her Mizzou jersey for the final time, Cunningham's basketball future is assuredly bright. With aspirations of joining the world's greatest women's basketball players on the WNBA stage, Cunningham has her sights set on making a major impact –– not only on the court, but through her life outside of basketball as well.
"I think the more respect and equality women's athletics can receive, the better –– that's what I intend to fight for," she said. "When I get to the league and have that platform, there's a lot of opportunity to help promote women's athletics and be a powerful light in that situation."
"I don't know what my role in that will be in those situations, but I know I want to be a huge advocate for female athletes everywhere because there's a lid on us and there should not be."
Paying homage to the pioneering efforts of former Mizzou women's basketball players, including 2015 graduates Bree Fowler and Morgan Eye, Cunningham recognizes just how far Pingeton's program has come over the course of her coach's nine-year tenure.
"The former players knew the vision Coach P. had and they bought in –– they started all of this," Cunningham said. "The more we get elite kids here and progress...one day I guarantee they're going to win a national championship."
"A lot of people have made sacrifices to get this process started, so I would love for this team to transform into the elite program we all know it can be one day."
"Alpha dog," "aggressive," "dominant," and "star" are just a few words that have been used to describe Sophie Cunningham throughout her Mizzou career. But the lifelong Tiger considers only one word to be worthy of fully encompassing her athletic journey: Feisty.
"My career here has not been easy," she said. "It's been a rollercoaster at times, but I think the feistiness that I bring on the court perfectly sums up my time at Mizzou."
"Our whole team has that mentality, as does our coaching staff. You're not going to put chains on this program...we're feisty."
Just as there will never be another Kobe, Sue, LeBron, Tamika or Michael in the history of basketball, there will never be another Sophie in the record of Mizzou women's basketball. The hometown hero has led a remarkable athletic career full of competitiveness, grace, passion and inspiration –– all while holding onto her humble Midwestern roots, the plentiful love that has been bestowed upon her throughout the years and her signature Sophie style.
"I've never been satisfied with the status quo and I've never been afraid to push the limits," Cunningham said.
Mizzou will honor its three seniors in the Class of 2019 - Lauren Aldridge, Sophie Cunningham and Cierra Porter - on Sunday, March 3 when the Tigers host Alabama. Tipoff from Mizzou Arena is slated for 2 p.m. CT, the the Senior Day festivities beginning at 1:40 p.m. CT.
