Beth Cunningham ( 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

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and Notre Dame and had been the women's

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 (appro ...

head coach at

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a Public university, public research university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virgin ...

and a former women's basketball player. As Beth Morgan, she played for the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

, the Richmond Rage/Philadelphia Rage of the American Basketball League and the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was ...

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 Summer Universiade The 1997 Summer Universiade, also known as the XIX Summer Universiade, took place in the island of Sicily, Italy. The United States topped the medal table. Venues Catania * Stadio Angelo Massimino — closing ceremonies and athletics * Teatro ...

and the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games () or the 13th Pan American Games and commonly known as Winnipeg 1999, were a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Ma ...

. Cunningham ranked as number 1 on Notre Dame's all-time scoring list with 2,322 points, until surpassed by

Skylar Diggins Skylar Kierra Diggins (born August 2, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Diggins was drafted third overall by the Tulsa Shock in the 2013 WNBA draft. I ...

. 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 2003–04 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 to 1999 (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 Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

coach at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

for 22 years before retiring in 2005.

Personal life

She married Dan Cunningham in 1998. Originally from Bloomington,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, 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 The Mendoza College of Business is the business school at the University of Notre Dame, a private research university in Notre Dame, Indiana. Founded in 1921, it offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Apart from its main campus, it also ...

before going on to earn her master's degree in Sports Leadership from VCU in 2003. Cunningham and her husband, Dan, have four children.

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season

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Playoffs

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College

Source

Head Coaching Record

Notes

External links

Notre Dame magazine article featuring Morgan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Beth 1975 births Living people American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball coaches from Ohio Basketball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Basketball players from Ohio Duke Blue Devils women's basketball coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) Philadelphia Rage players Shooting guards Basketball players from Bloomington, Indiana FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Summer World University Games medalists in basketball VCU Rams women's basketball coaches Washington Mystics players Medalists at the 1997 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in basketball Missouri State Lady Bears basketball coaches 20th-century American sportswomen