The Associated Press
STARKVILLE — Sophie Cunningham has scored a whole lot of points in her college career — more than 2,000 of them after Thursday night — but the senior knows when it’s time to give up the ball.
Driving to the basket in the final minute, Cunningham found Cierra Porter for a wide-open 3-pointer with 41 seconds left to seal the Missouri women’s basketball team’s 75-67 upset victory of No. 5 Mississippi State on Thursday night.
Porter hadn’t scored all night until the big 3-pointer. Cunningham didn’t hesitate.
“I know what she can do, and she can knock down big shots when we need them,” Cunningham said. “When she’s wide open, I’m going to give her the ball every time.”
Cunningham led the Tigers with 24 points, and Amber Smith added 16. Missouri snapped a four-game road losing streak.
Cunningham had her usual stellar performance — shooting 4-for-9 from 3-point range — despite battling an illness over the last 24 hours. She missed the pre-game practice and slept during the afternoon before tipoff.
“I was up all last night,” Cunningham said. “Had to get a couple IVs this morning. Woke up at 4:45 p.m. and didn’t go to shoot-around. But our team believed in me and I knew I was going to play no matter what. I’m not the type of person to sit out. I’m just proud of our team.”
Missouri (19-7, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) trailed for much of the night, but pulled ahead 55-54 on Akira Levy’s layup at the third-quarter buzzer. The Tigers pushed their advantage 60-56 early in the fourth quarter and never trailed again, fending off multiple MSU rallies.
Porter’s 3-pointer after Cunningham’s pass made it 70-64 and ended any
drama.
Missouri shot 55 percent from the field and made 11 3-pointers.
MSU (22-2, 10-1) had its 12-game winning streak snapped. The Bulldogs also had won 26 straight regular-season SEC games dating to last season.
MSU coach Vic Schaefer said he was disappointed in his team’s effort, but said Missouri’s performance was “special tonight” and the Tigers deserved to win.
“They are one tough bunch,” Schaefer said. “That’s my kind of team. Tough, physical, aggressive.”
Anriel Howard led the Bulldogs with 21 points. Teaira McCowan added 12 points and 13 rebounds. MSU hurt itself with 18 turnovers, including a combined 10 from starting guards Jazzmun Holmes and Jordan Danberry.
“We’ll practice tomorrow,” Schaefer said. “That’s all I can tell you.”
MSU needed Andra Espinoza-Hunter’s midrange jumper at the buzzer to take a 35-34 halftime lead. Howard led the Bulldogs with 11 points before the break. Cunningham had 13.
Cunningham passed 2,000 points for her career with a 3-pointer during the second quarter. The 6-foot-1 guard has been a consistent scorer throughout her career, scoring 448 points as a freshman, 541 as a sophomore, and 574 as a junior. She has 452 points this season.
The Tigers had lost their previous four road games, but Cunningham feels the Tigers can make a run up the SEC standings in the final few weeks. Missouri hadn’t won on the road since beating Tennessee on Jan. 6.
“Our train is moving,” Cunningham said during her post-game television interview. “We’ve had a rocky up-and-down season so far, but we had long talks in the locker room after LSU. We were there till like 2:30 in the morning and this train’s moving. We’re fixing ourselves. We’re fixing our body language and we’re not letting anybody stop us.”
Howard makes cut for top 10 of McClain Award
Prior to the game, Howard was named one of 10 remaining candidates for the Katrina McClain Award, the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced. The finalists will be announced in early March.
The award is presented to the nation’s top power forward in NCAA Division I. Five finalists will be presented to Katrina McClain-Pittman and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee. Fans will also have the opportunity to vote for their favorite finalist at www.hoophallawards.com.
The Atlanta, Georgia, native entered the game against Missouri second on the team in scoring (15.5 points per game) and rebounding (8.0).
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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