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AP: Aussie will need to step up for OSU gals
Published 3/18/2010 in Sports
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Where Tegan Cunningham grew up, the idea of March Madness didn't really hit home.
Back in Melbourne, Australia, there weren't brackets everywhere for people to fill out. The NCAA tournament didn't become a part of her dreams until much later.
"I remember growing up as a kid I heard about it, but I never really got too much into it because obviously I'm Australian and we don't have anything like it," Cunningham said.
Now that she's in it, Cunningham finds herself squarely in the spotlight because her teammate — Andrea Riley, the nation's third-leading scorer — will be suspended for No. 20 Oklahoma State's first-round game against Chattanooga on Saturday night in Tempe, Ariz.
The fourth-seeded Cowgirls will be counting on Cunningham, the team's second-leading scorer and the only other player besides Riley on the team averaging more than 8.1 points per game.
"It's not just coming down to me. It's coming down to everyone," said Cunningham, who ranked seventh in the Big 12 by scoring 16.2 points per game. "I'm just one player that can score but there's a lot of people on our team that can score."
Playing alongside Riley, Cunningham's development has been overshadowed. Riley set the school's all-time scoring record this season and ranks second in OSU history in assists and steals. She averages 26.6 points and is also seventh in the nation with 6.5 assists while attempting 24 shots per game.
It's only natural that Cunningham would be expected to fill some of Riley's scoring void. But that likely puts her squarely in the crosshairs of the 14th-seeded Mocs as they prepare their defense.
"I probably will get double-teamed maybe, or I don't really know what they're going to do toward me on the court," Cunningham said. "I have faced a lot of different things on the court this year, so I'm sure I can handle it."
Cunningham has increased her scoring output by 5 1/2 points per game while becoming a bigger threat from 3-point range — upping her shooting percentage from 33 percent to 39 percent. She's also tied for the team lead with 7.2 rebounds per game.
"People don't talk about her enough," Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale said. "I think she's really good and really hard to guard. I think she'll be a good pro. I think she'll have a pro career — just has the body for it and tough to guard, tough to keep her from getting that shot off."
And while Riley would rather be on the floor guiding her team, there's a part of her that enjoys seeing Cunningham finally get noticed.
"I want her to get a taste of it. I really do," said Riley, who's being punished for taking a swipe at LSU's Erica White during OSU's last NCAA tournament appearance two years ago. "It's great, but once you get used to it, you're used to it.
"This year is an outstanding year for her. She has never dealt with the media, all the things that happen, but I think that she's really appreciative and she's worked so hard to become who she is."
Cunningham was a part of the second wave in Oklahoma State's rise from the Big 12 cellar. The Cowgirls followed a winless conference season by returning to the NCAA tournament in 2007, then making it to the round of 16 in 2008.
Some key members of that team, including Maria Cordero and Danielle Green, moved on after the school's deepest run in the NCAAs. Cunningham's first season at OSU ended with an early exit in the NIT.
"She's changed a whole bunch from last year because she's so positive," Riley said. "She doesn't put her head down at any time because she knows what she has to do in order to have this team excel."
Now, she takes on even more importance with Riley missing.
"Everyone's roles change a little bit," Cunningham said. "It's different. She's the one that takes the ball down every time and gets us all into our sets and everything. Without her, obviously things are going to be different. It's just an adjustment we have to make. It's only one game. It's not like it's forever."
Coach Kurt Budke said Cunningham has been "a leading scorer her whole life" and knows how to fill that role, but he also said it would help if his team held Chattanooga to between 55 and 60 points — instead of the 67 points opponents have been averaging against OSU.
"Drea is a great scorer, and she can score whenever she wants, but we will find a way to get through this," Cunningham said. "She's not the whole team. There's a lot more to us than just Andrea Riley. I think as a team we need to pull together and get it done."
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