Missouri women’s basketball upsets No. 5 Mississippi State 75-67 behind Sophie Cunningham

Robin Pingeton continues to break her own records.

After Missouri knocked off No. 10 Tennessee in Knoxville on Jan. 6, the Tigers (19-7, 8-4 SEC) upset No. 5 Mississippi State (22-2, 10-1 SEC) 75-67 in Starkville, Miss., for the biggest road win in program history. Sophie Cunningham led MU with 24 points in Thursday’s upset win.

“This train is moving,” Cunningham said to ESPN after the win.

The win snaps Mississippi State’s 12-game winning streak. And the Tigers are just the second team to beat the Bulldogs in the regular season in the last two years.

Missouri pulled off the upset despite 12 points and 13 rebounds from Bulldogs 6-foot-7 senior Teaira McCowan, who didn’t have to deal with Tigers’ 6-foot-4 forward Cierra Porter for most of the game. Porter played just five minutes in the first half due to foul trouble and then quickly picked up two more fouls early in the second half. Porter’s only basket was a dagger, though, as she it a three-pointer with 35 seconds left to give MU a six-point lead.

Even with the size disadvantage, Missouri still outscored Mississippi State in the paint 30-24. Missouri also outscored Mississippi State on turnovers 24-16.

Anriel Howard led Mississippi State with 21 points despite having her own foul trouble for most of the night. Howard fouled out with 1:47 left but hit a three before the halftime buzzer to send Mississippi State into the break up 35-34.

Cunningham carried the Tigers for most of the game and eclipsed the 2,000 point mark for her career during it. She was up most of Wednesday night with an upset stomach and said after the game that she didn’t do much in practice and had an IV in her in the morning. Missouri got 10 points off the bench from freshman Akira Levy and 16 from junior Amber Smith. Levy had eight of her 10 points in the second half and was crucial to MU breaking the Bulldogs’ press.

“Akira had some really tough possessions,” Pingeton said on KTGR radio after the game. “She had some really big possessions, too.”

The win is Missouri’s second over a ranked team in just over a week after the Tigers dispatched No. 18 Texas A&M last Thursday. Missouri hosts Tennessee on Sunday with a chance to extend its winning streak to four games. ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme had Missouri as a No. 7 seed in his mock NCAA Tournament bracket on Monday, facing defending national champion Notre Dame in the next round. A win on Sunday could move MU up to a No. 5 seed and get the program back in the conversation for hosting the first two rounds.