In less than a week Coach Robin Pingeton has gotten two of the biggest wins of her coaching career. First was Pingeton’s 500th career victory in a blowout over Vanderbilt, followed by the upset over No. 5 Mississippi State on Thursday. Six days removed from celebrating 500 wins and two days after the latest most important win of her career, one play sticks out in Missouri's biggest week.
There were eight seconds left on the shot clock and Sophie Cunningham was running out of time.
Missouri was up by three points over No. 5 Mississippi State with 45 seconds left in the fourth quarter, but the clock was ticking. The Tigers needed one more basket to put the game out of reach.
Missouri just came out of a thirty-second timeout and the offensive possession fell apart. Two seconds passed and Cunningham was still in the corner right in front of the Bulldogs bench. Senior Jordan Danberry was draped all over her.
Amber Smith was open on the left block and Jazzmun Holmes was attempting to front her. Holmes, undersized at five-foot-eight, was too small and gave up deep post position to Smith. That forced Teaira McCowan to sink further down into the paint, leaving senior Cierra Porter all alone on the right wing.
Cunningham drove baseline and drew two more defenders along the way. Smith backed out and replaced Cunningham at the three-point line and McCowan was ready with her knees bent to block any shot that Cunningham could have offered up.
The only outlet was Porter. She stayed at the three-point line but shifted closer to the corner to give Cunningham a better passing angle. She was in foul trouble throughout the entire game and because of that, she hadn't scored a point all night.
Porter had attempted just one shot before Cunningham before swung the ball her way late in the fourth. It was a three-pointer midway through the first quarter. It was a shot that the Bulldogs defense was willing to let her take.
She caught the ball with four seconds left on the shot clock. Then Porter, a career 27 percent three-point shooter, fired her seventh attempt this season. Missouri's ability to clinch the upset victory weighed in the balance.
“I didn’t know she didn’t make a shot all game,” Cunningham said. “I really didn’t. She was wide open and I’m going to give her the ball every single time.”
There wasn’t a Mississippi State defender anywhere near Porter until the ball began to descend over the rim. By the time sophomore Bre’Amber Scott got there, all she could do was turn around and watch the ball sink through the net.
The most important shot of Porter's career came from an unlikely spot. It was Porter’s second made a three-pointer this season and just the 21st of her career. The Tigers regained their biggest lead of the game and extended it to eight points in the Bulldogs first SEC loss after 26 wins in a row.
“It still kinda gives me some chills,” Cunningham said. “It was awesome… that was probably one of the biggest threes of her career.”
The result was one of the biggest wins in Missouri women’s basketball history. Mississippi State is the highest ranked team the Tigers have defeated on the road and the second road top-10 victory this season. It brings the Tigers to 4-2 against top-25 teams, three of those wins coming in SEC play.
Porter returned to the team in late December after medically retiring last June. There was a transitionally period for her after missing so much time. However, after the first few games, it was clear Porter was putting things back together rather quickly. She came off the bench for seven games then returned to the starting lineup against Kentucky.
Porter went scoreless with three rebounds against the Wildcats, but since then she has averaged eight points and six rebounds a game. She dropped a season-high 15 points against Vanderbilt on February 10.
“I think it’s all worth it to me,” Porter said at Missouri’s media day on Saturday. “The highs, the lows, all of it has been worth it to me. Not necessarily just that, but that was obviously a very fun win.”
Porter admitted that she doesn’t rank the victories she’s experienced in her four years at Missouri. According to her, they all feel special at that time. However, her play in this one is an example of the promise Porter gave to Robin Pingeton when she returned this season.
“After being out of it for a while it just takes time,” Pingeton said. “I think there’s been some frustrations. But she’s stayed true to what she said when she came back. She was just going to try to contribute in any way that she could. She wasn’t concerned about minutes or the starting lineup. She just wanted to help us.”
Missouri is on a three-game winning streak and in fourth place in the SEC. The Tigers return home to Mizzou Arena to face Tennessee on Sunday at 4 p.m. Missouri picked up its first ever victory in Knoxville earlier this season and look to continue the momentum of the past two weeks of play.
