Tiger seniors go out in style
There were 10 seconds left in the second quarter and the crowd at Mizzou Arena had already started counting down. Missouri had the ball with a chance to score on the final possession of a dominant first half against Alabama.
Senior Sophie Cunningham drove right and challenged the Tide’s Jasmine Walker at the rim. The whistle blew and Cunningham finished the and-1 right-handed layup over the taller defender. The Tigers were up by 15 points after two quarters in a game they'd go on to win, 82-47.
It was only fitting. Sunday was Missouri’s senior day and Cunningham, Cierra Porter, and Lauren Aldridge delivered in their final home game in front of 6,527 fans.
“I’m lost for words,” Cunningham said after the game. “I don’t know what you guys feel, but when we came here there really was only 200 people in the stands at most. We came in here on a mission and we did what we said we were going to get done.”
Cunningham started the game with a deep three from the right wing. Then she ended the half by sinking the free throw for another three-point play. Cunningham finished with five made threes and 22 points.
Porter, who’s been dominant of late, finished 5-6 from the field with 11 points and Aldridge chipped in with seven. Missouri’s seniors contributed for 24 of the Tigers 36 first-half points and finished with 40, nearly as many as the Crimson Tide.
It was more of the same in the second half. On Missouri’s opening possession Cunningham drove baseline and swung it to junior Jordan Roundtree in the corner. Roundtree drove baseline and Cunningham quickly replaced her. Roundtree tossed the ball back to a wide-open Cunningham. She nailed her third three of the game and extended the Tigers lead. The last two quarters were more coronation than competition.
It’s a victory that Porter won’t take for granted, especially because of her unique journey to her senior day.
“I’m not even supposed to be here right now,” Porter said. “But I get to spend this time with these amazing, genuine people and like Sophie said it’s the people that you are gonna to miss. I’m just so blessed that I get to relive it with them.”
Outside of Porter’s production in the paint, the Tigers couldn’t miss from deep. Hannah Schuchts and Haley Troup went 7-7 from three-point range to lend the seniors plenty of support. The Tigers finished with 15 made threes, one shy of tying a season-high set against Duke on Nov 25. It was Missouri's tenth game with ten or more three-pointers this season.
This win put the Tigers 10-6 in SEC play, the third straight season with 10 or more conference wins. It’s another accolade for a group of seniors that won more than 20 games in each of its four years at Missouri.
Winning is a sign of how important this senior class has been and what its lasting effect on this program will be. But, more importantly to them, the relationships forged between these three seniors and the Missouri program will live on past the end of this season.
“It’s been the biggest blessing and the best decision I’ve ever made in my life,” Aldridge said. “The one thing that I will say, and Coach P will be very proud of me for saying this, I’ve learned at Mizzou that relationships are the most important thing at the end of the day.”
Missouri finished the regular season at 21-9, 10-6 in SEC play. The Tigers are the fifth seed in the SEC Tournament and will face the winner of Ole Miss (9-21, 3-13) versus Florida (7-22, 3-13) on Thursday, March 6.
The Running Rebels defeated the Gators 76-66 in their only meeting this season.
Missouri beat Ole Miss by 23 points in the first game of the SEC season and lost to Florida 58-56 on Jan 13.