5 things to know about the inaugural Sophie Cunningham Classic playing at Columbia College

The Norm Stewart Classic isn't the only marquee high school basketball event in town anymore.

The Sophie Cunningham Classic tips off Friday, Dec. 2, spans three days and plays at Columbia College. Teams from all over Missouri, as well as out of state, will come to compete.

"We couldn't be more honored," Cunningham told reporters in November. "Norm wanted to do something on the women's side of things."

Here are five things to watch during the inaugural Sophie Cunningham Classic from Dec. 2 to Dec. 4.

Notable teams from Missouri

There are state champions and classic programs alike that will be playing at Columbia College. This includes Cunningham's alma mater, Rock Bridge.

Helias, the third-place finisher in Class 4 and a CMAC rival for Columbia programs, will be present, as will the Class 4 state champion John Burroughs. Class 2 runner-up Ellington and Class 5 runner-up Whitfield will also play during the weekend's slate of games.

Locally, Rock Bridge, Battle and Southern Boone will represent Boone County teams during the three-day classic.

Notable teams from out of state

There also aren't any shortages of teams coming to Columbia from outside the Show-Me State. In fact, four schools from Illinois and Kansas help comprise the schedule.

Quincy Notre Dame, Blue Valley North, Olathe North and Bishop Miege will travel to play ball this weekend. Blue Valley North, Olathe North and Bishop Miege are all schools from Kansas. Quincy Notre Dame hails from Illinois.

Bishop Miege is the most successful of the visitors as the defending Kansas Class 4A state champions. The Stags finished 23-2 on the year, and also earned a No. 1 overall ranking by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association.

Not to be outdone, Quincy Notre Dame is also a reigning champ. The Raiders claimed the 2A title last year in Illinois after a 29-3 overall record.

Olathe North also has one of the more impressive resumes, coming off a 23-2 season that ended with a fourth-place finish in the Kansas Class 6A Tournament.

This year, Blue Valley North is ranked No. 2 overall by the KBCA.

Players to note

Where great teams gather, so do great players to make up those teams.

Teams like Bishop Miege that are reigning state champs have players like Kirston Verhulst and Grace McCallop, who made their way onto preseason watch lists as sophomores.

Blue Valley North will also have Audrey Shaw, sister of Missouri men's basketball player Aidan Shaw, and Jaliyah Davis. Both Shaw and Davis are earning offers from Power 5 programs, and both have offers to play at Missouri.

Also on a list of players earning scholarship offers is Blue Springs South's Kendall Puryear, who has gotten attention from Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Missouri.

Other players like Battle's Kaelyn Johnson, Rock Bridge's Katherine Seivers and Isabella Corrado, and Jefferson City's Hannah Linthacum have already signed with their college choices. Linthacum will play at Missouri, Seivers and Johnson will play at Columbia College and Corrado will play for Ave Maria University.

The best games to watch

Make sure you jot these games down.

The classic opens with South Iron playing Lincoln College High School, which pits one of the best teams in Class 1 against a Class 5 team. Rock Bridge and Blue Valley North play the game of the day at 8 p.m.

The second day of the classic begins at 10 a.m. with Olathe North playing South Iron in a class of two 20-win teams from last season. Battle takes on district rival Blue Springs South to close the day at 6 p.m.

However, one of the best games of Day 2 is when Blue Valley North takes on Jefferson City in a game that pits star Hannah Linthacum against BVN's Audrey Shaw and Jaliya Davis.

The final day of the classic is highlighted by a Class 4 2022 top-three clash. Reigning Class 4 champion John Burroughs takes on the Class 4 third-place finisher in Helias. The classic closes with Quincy Notre Dame taking on Rock Bridge.

The beginning of a new tradition

The Norm Stewart Classic has become a steady part of the basketball scene in Columbia. Now, a girls' basketball classic has a chance to become the same.

Not only will the Sophie Cunningham Classic have a chance to be a mainstay in high school girls basketball, but it has a chance to do much more for the girls' basketball scene in Columbia.

"I love it," MU women's basketball coach Robin Pingeton said.

A reason why the classic has a chance to take off is because of the Cunningham family. Sophie and Lindsey, standout players at Rock Bridge and then MU, not only thrive in the community after their playing days but also take pride in giving back.

Sophie, who currently plays for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, has built a legacy of basketball that her former coach knows goes beyond her generation.

"There's a lot of kids that really look up to her," Pingeton said. "Our program as a whole understands that, and there's a responsibility that goes with that."

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: 5 things to know about the inaugural Sophie Cunningham Classic