San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: BREYA CUNNINGHAM
High School: La Jolla Country Day
Year: Senior
Sport: Basketball
Position: Center
Up next: Cunningham is headed to Arizona, where she’ll play for coach Adia Barnes, a former Mission Bay High School star.
Highlights: The 6-foot-4 Cunningham dominated all four years in high school, capping her career by being named CIFSAN Diego Section Player of the Year. As a senior, she averaged 18.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.9 steals and 2.7 blocks per game for a team that played a national schedule, went 29-4 and won the San Diego Section Open Division championship. Those numbers earned her firstteam All-american honors by Maxpreps.com and a spot in the Mcdonald’s All-american Game in Houston alongside LJCD teammate Jada Williams. Cunningham played in 106 career games at LJCD, averaging 17.8 points and 11.1 rebounds.
Roadtrip: La Jolla Country Day played all over the country, including trips to Oregon and to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Massachusetts. In their travels, the Torreys played teams from 10 different states: Texas, Georgia, Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, Utah, New York, Oregon, Tennessee and Arkansas.
Quotable: “One of my fondest memories of high school is traveling with my team, especially this season,” Cunningham said. “I loved the Hall of Fame, loved seeing the evolution of the game. And I loved that people in other parts of the country got to see us play.”
On the Mcdonald’s Game: “That was really fun,” Cunningham said. “People think it’s an exhibition, but the players were giving it their all. Playing with and against the best players in the country was a blast. And they treated us first class. It really gave me a taste of what the next level and beyond is like.”
Coach’s quote: “Breya was the face of our program,” said Torreys coach Terri Bamford. “Not only was she a great player for us, she’s a great person, a great teammate. I can’t say enough good things about Breya and what she has meant to the program.”
The future: Cunningham and Williams have signed to play for Barnes at Arizona. The pair are already taking summer classes at the Tucson campus.
College major: Cunningham plans to major in psychology, but hasn’t narrowed down a path other than she isn’t interested in being a coach or teacher.
Quotable II: “The main goal is to get to the league (WNBA),” Cunningham said. “Since I started playing basketball at age 4-5, all I wanted to do was play this game, get a degree and see where it leads me. I’m more than ready for the next chapter of my life.”