By Kyle Jones

Last July, Missouri coach and Director of Recruiting Willie Cox was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer. On Sunday, the Tigers carried him off the court in celebration.

That was the culmination of what was one of the most emotional games of Missouri’s season, and maybe its history.

The Tigers played host to the Crimson Tide of Alabama, winning by a dominant score of 82-47, but by the end, nobody really cared what was on the scoreboard.

Sophie Cunningham scored 22 points and recorded 8 rebounds. It was a great performance from her.

Image credit- Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) on Twitter.

Those stats didn’t matter.

Lauren Aldridge had 5 assists and played great defense. Her efforts were key in Missouri’s victory.

Cierra Porter recorded 11 points and 5 rebounds. Porter led the team in steals with 3. It was her 100th start as a Missouri Tiger. Her numbers didn’t matter- Porter’s story is what did.

Lauren Aldridge’s story is what mattered. Cunningham’s story is what mattered.

On a day where the Missouri Tigers put up one of their best on-court performances of the season, the thing that fans cared about was saying goodbye to a trio of seniors that put Missouri women’s basketball back on the map.

Aldridge, who transferred from rival Kansas two seasons ago, and has been the anchor for Missouri for the better part of three years. Her influence isn’t always talked about, but is always felt.

Porter, who had to medically retire at the end of last season. If you had told a Missouri fan that she would make her 100th career start on Sunday they would’ve called you crazy. She has great scoring ability and uses her physical play to grab tons rebounds.

And of course Sophie Cunningham, the McDonalds All-American, the Columbia native, who stayed home to play for the school she loved. The “Mayor of Columbia” makes more headlines than you can read and scores more points than you can count.

The Queen of CoMo waved goodbye to her loyal subjects as she walked off the Mizzou Arena court for the final time as a competitor.

On Senior Day, when Mizzou trounced the Crimson Tide, it wasn’t the score that mattered. It was all the stories that led to it.

Edited by Garrett Jones | gcjh23@mail.missouri.edu