Former Mizzou Tigers star Sophie Cunningham announces return to WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury
Former Missouri women’s basketball star Sophie Cunningham announced Monday that she is re-signing with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury.
Cunningham was an unrestricted free agent this offseason because the Mercury declined to pick up the fourth-year option on her rookie contract during the season. The Columbia, Missouri, native was drafted 13th overall in 2019 after re-writing the record books as the Mizzou’s career leading scorer.
Though the terms of the deal have yet to be reported, the move comes following arguably the best season of Cunningham’s professional career. She averaged 5.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists during the regular season for Mercury. But the biggest improvement, by far, was her shooting numbers; she shot 43.7% from the field and 41% from beyond the three-point arc in 2021 after averaging marks of less than 38% and 31% in those respective categories in her prior two years in the league.
Cunningham turned heads with a breakout performance in a victory over the New York Liberty in the first round of the playoffs, during which she scored 21 points and shot 6 of 7 on three-point attempts. The Mercury made the WNBA Finals, where they lost to Candace Parker and the Chicago Sky.
The Mercury are under new leadership in 2022. The organization decided not to renew the contract of Sandy Brondello, who served as head coach for eight seasons, in December. Cunningham will play under Vanessa Nygaard, who was announced as the Mercury’s coach on Jan. 24 after working as an assistant coach with the Las Vegas Aces last year.
