Beth Cunningham (basketball)
Missouri State Lady Bears | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Position | Head Coach | ||||||||||||||||||||
League | Missouri Valley Conference | ||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Greenville, Ohio, U.S. | June 5, 1975||||||||||||||||||||
Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Listed weight | 150 lb (68 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||
High school | Bloomington South (Bloomington, Indiana) | ||||||||||||||||||||
College | Notre Dame (1993–1997) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Shooting guard | ||||||||||||||||||||
Number | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Coaching career | 2001–present | ||||||||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||
As player: | |||||||||||||||||||||
1997–1998 | Philadelphia Rage | ||||||||||||||||||||
2000 | Washington Mystics | ||||||||||||||||||||
As coach: | |||||||||||||||||||||
2001–2003 | VCU (assistant/assoc. HC) | ||||||||||||||||||||
2003–2012 | VCU | ||||||||||||||||||||
2012–2020 | Notre Dame (associate) | ||||||||||||||||||||
2020–2022 | Duke (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||
2022–present | Missouri State | ||||||||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Stats at Basketball Reference | |||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Beth Cunningham (née Morgan; born June 5, 1975), is the head coach of the Missouri State women's basketball team.
Career
She was previously an associate head coach at Duke and Notre Dame and had been the women's basketball head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University and a former women's basketball player.
As Beth Morgan, she played for the University of Notre Dame, the Richmond Rage/Philadelphia Rage of the American Basketball League and the Washington Mystics of the WNBA before turning to coaching. She finished her playing career as one of the most decorated and top women's basketball players of all time.
She also played on the American teams in 1997 World University Games [1] and the 1999 Pan-American Games.[2]
Cunningham ranked as number 1 on Notre Dame's all-time scoring list with 2,322 points, until surpassed by Skylar Diggins. Diggins had played 17 more games than Cunningham did at Notre Dame. During her career, Cunningham set or tied 28 school records. In her final two seasons, she was a first team all-Big-East selection.
Cunningham took over the VCU Rams for the 2003–2004 season after serving as assistant coach of the team for two years. During her playing days at Notre Dame (1993-97), Cunningham was a trailblazer, leading the program to its first NCAA Women's Final Four appearance and a 31-7 campaign in her senior season. She was a two-time Associated Press and WBCA honorable mention All-America choice, four-time first-team all-conference selection and two-year team captain. The Irish were 97-32 in her four seasons, including a pair of conference titles and three NCAA appearances. She departed as the all-time leading scorer in Fighting Irish women's basketball history with 2,322 points (which now ranks third), having set or tied 28 school records during her career.
She was also a fixture in USA Basketball circles as both a player and coach, first suiting up for Team USA four times from 1996-99 (winning three medals including a gold at the 1997 USA World University Games) and later serving as the athlete representative on the USA Basketball Women's Junior National Team Committee and the USA Basketball Women's Collegiate Committee.
Following her amateur career, Cunningham spent three seasons playing professional basketball, including two years with the Richmond/Philadelphia Rage of the American Basketball League (ABL) and one year with the WNBA's Washington Mystics in 2000 before embarking on her coaching career.
Her father, Bob Morgan, was the head baseball coach at Indiana University for 22 years before retiring in 2005.[3]
Personal life
She married Dan Cunningham in 1998. Originally from Bloomington, Ind., Cunningham was a standout two-sport performer at Bloomington South High School, earning all-state honors in both basketball and tennis. She was inducted into the Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame in June 2011. She graduated from Notre Dame in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the top-ranked Mendoza College of Business before going on to earn her Master’s degree in Sports Leadership from VCU in 2003.
Cunningham and her husband, Dan, have four children.[4]
Career statistics
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
WNBA
Regular season
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | Washington | 21 | 0 | 9.4 | 25.0 | 24.3 | 84.2 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 2.8 |
Career | 1 year, 1 team | 21 | 0 | 9.4 | 25.0 | 24.3 | 84.2 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 2.8 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | Washington | 2 | 0 | 6.5 | 50.0 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 3.5 |
Career | 1 year, 1 team | 2 | 0 | 6.5 | 50.0 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 3.5 |
College
Source[5]
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1993–94 | Notre Dame | 29 | 518 | 46.8% | 37.1% | 78.6% | 4.3 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 17.9 |
1994–95 | Notre Dame | 27 | 482 | 44.9% | 38.1% | 80.2% | 4.1 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 17.9 |
1995–96 | Notre Dame | 31 | 626 | 46.1% | 39.9% | 85.4% | 5.0 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 20.2 |
1996–97 | Notre Dame | 38 | 696 | 40.9% | 32.6% | 80.9% | 6.1 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 18.3 |
Career | 125 | 2322 | 44.4% | 36.8% | 81.4% | 5.0 | 2.3 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 18.6 |
Head Coaching Record
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
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VCU (Colonial Athletic Association) (2003–2012) | |||||||||
2003–04 | VCU | 14–14 | 10–8 | T-4th | |||||
2004–05 | VCU | 11–18 | 6–12 | 7th | |||||
2005–06 | VCU | 13–15 | 6–12 | 9th | |||||
2006–07 | VCU | 17–13 | 9–9 | 6th | |||||
2007–08 | VCU | 26–8 | 13–5 | T-3rd | WNIT 2nd Round | ||||
2008–09 | VCU | 26–7 | 15–3 | 2nd | NCAA 1st Round | ||||
2009–10 | VCU | 22–13 | 12–6 | 3rd | WNIT 1st Round | ||||
2010–11 | VCU | 19–12 | 13–5 | 4th | WNIT 1st Round | ||||
2011–12 | VCU | 19–15 | 9–9 | 6th | WNIT 3rd Round | ||||
VCU: | 167–115 (.592) | 93–69 (.574) | |||||||
Missouri State (Missouri Valley Conference) (2022–present) | |||||||||
2022–23 | Missouri State | 20–12 | 14–6 | T–4th | WNIT First Round | ||||
2023–24 | Missouri State | 23–10 | 15–5 | 3rd | WBIT First Round | ||||
Missouri State: | 43–22 (.662) | 14–6 (.700) | |||||||
Total: | 210–137 (.605) | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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Notes
- ^ "Eighteenth World University Games – 1993". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
- ^ "Thirteenth Pan American Games – 1999". USA Basketball. June 10, 2010. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ^ "Head Coach Bob Morgan Resigns". University of Indiana. June 5, 2005. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 22 Oct 2013.
- ^ "Notre Dame to honor Beth Cunningham for impact on program".
- ^ "Notre Dame Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-09-21. Retrieved 2017-09-08.