Behind Sophie Cunningham’s 29 points, Mizzou women reach SEC semifinals for first time
The Missouri women’s basketball team’s chances at hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament went from far-fetched to possible on Friday.
The fifth-seeded Tigers upset No. 13-ranked and No. 4 seed Kentucky 70-68 in overtime in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals in Greenville, S.C. Mizzou will make its first appearance in the SEC semifinals at 4 p.m. Saturday against top-seeded and fifth-ranked Mississippi State. That game will air on ESPNU.
Sophie Cunningham led all scorers with 29 points and needs just three points to become the Tigers’ career leading scorer. Kentucky guard Rhyne Howard led the Wildcats with 25 points.
The Tigers (23-9) committed 26 turnovers and allowed Kentucky (24-7) to come back from an eight-point halftime deficit. But every time the Wildcats made a run in the second half, MU was able to respond.
“At the beginning of the season we wouldn’t have done that,” Cunningham said. “When we got punched in the mouth, we couldn’t come back from it. But I think our team has matured a lot.”
Amber Smith added 12 points and a game-high seven rebounds for Missouri, and was Cunningham’s biggest aide offensively.
Missouri now turns its attention to the Bulldogs, who only lost twice in the regular season, including once at home to MU on Feb. 14 in a 75-67 upset. Freshman guard Akira Levy scored 10 points off the bench in that win but she tore her ACL 10 days later and is out for the year.
The Tigers pulled off the upset in Starkville despite having 6-foot-4 forward Cierra Porter in foul trouble for most of the game. Porter’s assignment on Saturday will be 6-foot-7 Teaira McCowen, who is a consistent double-double threat and MU’s biggest hurdle to advancing to the tournament final.
ESPN women’s bracketologist Charlie Creme said during MU’s game against Kentucky that the loser would miss out on a top-16 national seed for the NCAA Tournament. A win over Mississippi State would likely secure Mizzou’s chances at hosting.
This story was originally published March 8, 2019 at 6:50 PM with the headline "Behind Sophie Cunningham’s 29 points, Mizzou women reach SEC semifinals for first time."