Sophie Elizabeth Cunningham (born August 16, 1996) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league ...

of the

Women’s National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Nation ...

(WNBA)

College career

Cunningham played four seasons of college basketball at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...

for the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

Statistics

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Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, 32 , , 32 , , 30.1 , , .502 , , .356 , , .831 , , 5.8 , , 3.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.3 , , 2.4 , , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 31 , , 32.9 , , .482 , , .379 , , .848 , , 5.3 , , 3.4 , , 0.9 , , 0.3 , , 3.4 , , 17.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 31 , , 32.7 , , .542 , , .457 , , .836 , , 4.7 , , 3.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 3.0 , , 18.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 35 , , 34.3 , , .481 , , .403 , , .839 , , 5.9 , , 2.8 , , 1.2 , , 0.3 , , 2.9 , , 17.8 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 129 , , 129 , , 32.5 , , .501 , , .403 , , .839 , , 5.4 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 2.9 , , 17.0

Professional career

Phoenix Mercury (2019-present)

Cunningham was selected as the thirteenth overall pick of the

2019 WNBA draft The 2019 WNBA draft was the league's draft for the 2019 WNBA season. On March 19, the league announced the draft would be held on April 10 at Nike New York headquarters. The first round was televised on ESPN2, and the second and third rounds were ...

by the

. After making the final roster with the Mercury, Cunningham would play under head coach

Sandy Brondello Sandra Anne "Sandy" Brondello (born 20 August 1968) is an Australian women's basketball coach, and the current head coach of the New York Liberty of the WNBA. Brondello played in Australia, Germany and the WNBA before retiring to become a coa ...

and alongside the likes of

Brittney Griner Brittney Yevette Griner (; born October 18, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's natio ...

DeWanna Bonner DeWanna Bonner (born August 21, 1987) is an American-Macedonian professional basketball player for the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Bonner played college basketball for Auburn University. After a successf ...

, and

Diana Taurasi Diana Lorena Taurasi (born June 11, 1982) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted by Phoenix first overall in the 2004 WNBA draft. Taurasi has w ...

. Cunningham is the eighth Missouri alum to be drafted into the WNBA and is the highest selection for a former Tiger.

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

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2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

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Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, 32 , , 5 , , 12.2 , , .354 , , .304 , , .882 , , 1.4 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 0.6 , , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

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, 21 , , 11 , , 18.9 , , .385 , , .235 , , .880 , , 1.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 0.7 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 30 , , 4 , , 17.5 , , .437 , , .410 , , .704 , , 2.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 0.5 , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 28 , , 20 , , 29.5 , , .449 , , .400 , , .875 , , 4.4 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 1.0 , , 12.6 , - , style='text-align:left;', Career , style='text-align:left;', 4 years, 1 team , 111 , , 40 , , 19.2 , , .423 , , .366 , , .843 , , 2.3 , , 1.1 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 0.7 , , 6.5

Postseason

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, 1 , , 0 , , 8.0 , , 1.000 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 0 , , 9.5 , , .500 , , .333 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.5 , , 2.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 8 , , 2 , , 17.5 , , .484 , , .565 , , 1.000 , , 2.1 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.9 , , 0.8 , , 6.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 2 , , 31.0 , , .455 , , .375 , , .333 , , 2.5 , , 2.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 2.5 , , 7.5 , - , style='text-align:left;', Career , style='text-align:left;', 4 years, 1 team , 13 , , 4 , , 17.6 , , .489 , , .514 , , .625 , , 1.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 0.5 , , 1.6 , , 5.7

References

External links

Missouri Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Sophie 1996 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American women's basketball players Basketball players from Missouri McDonald's High School All-Americans Missouri Tigers women's basketball players Phoenix Mercury draft picks Phoenix Mercury players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Columbia, Missouri Rock Bridge High School alumni