If you ever got the chance to watch Catie Cunningham take the court in her four years at Marist, words such as scrappy, tough, gritty and determined constantly popped into your head.
Players and coaches who got to know Cunningham as a person think of words like attentive, kind and generous to describe her.
The senior guard spent all four of her collegiate years giving everything she had to the Marist women’s basketball program, both on and off the court. Cunningham never wavered despite the hardships of losing seasons in her first three years, making a winning season in her final year fully deserved.
The process of Cunningham becoming a Red Fox all started in her sophomore year of high school at West Genesee in Syracuse. She was a part of two New York State Final Four runs in 2018 and 2019. Her play caught the eye of current head coach Erin Doughty and former Marist assistant coach Maggie Gallagher.
“What we really loved about her was how she did all the little things,” said Doughty. “Offensive rebounds, defending, cutting really well. She was kind of a ‘do whatever her team needs [player].’”
Marist stood out to Catie early on, appreciating the beautiful campus and the academics. Above all, the coaches were incredibly welcoming to Cunningham during the elite camps that she attended.
Cunningham’s first two seasons in Poughkeepsie went rather similarly, playing in 28 games both years. The Red Foxes went a combined 20-41 and lost in the first round of the MAAC tournament both years. After her sophomore season, a major change occurred in the program with the retirement of legendary head coach Brian Giorgis and the promotion of Doughty after the 2022-23 season.
“It was both easy and difficult,” said Cunningham. “I talked to her [Coach Doughty] the most during the recruiting process, so she kinda became a mom figure for me, so that made it easy. But the difficult part was she became my head coach, not the assistant, where you usually go and talk to her about things. Transitioning from where she’s going to yell at me and I have to be okay with that, I think that was the difficult part.”
Cunningham’s junior season ended as one of the worst in program history, going 6-25, Marist’s lowest record since the 1998-99 season. Cunningham started 29 games, recording six double-doubles, including 12 points and 17 rebounds against Quinnipiac.
Going 26-66 across three seasons is not something that Cunningham and the Red Foxes planned. Despite that, the possibility of her looking for a new home for her final season did not develop in any sense.
“I think if there was a thought of transferring, it was very little,” said Cunningham. “We always had a motto here that we want to leave the program better than we found it.”
“One of the things I love about Catie is her loyalty,” said Doughty. “She stayed here when it wasn’t easy to stay here or when it might have been easier to leave and go somewhere ‘better,’ but she made a commitment to Marist and our program and she wanted to stick by that.”
The decision to come back meant a slightly new role for the senior. Cunningham was one of just three players set to graduate in 2025, depended on as a leader for a young roster,
Cunningham mentioned how being a leader is tougher than she expected. However, the senior mentioned how all of the upperclassmen made a continuous effort to go to the underclassmen group to offer any kind of advice.
“I feel like the chemistry with the team was better than it has been before,” said Cunningham. “I think just the leadership was great all around.”
Marist received a No. 11 ranking in the MAAC coaches poll ahead of the 2024-25 season, mainly due to the 6-25 record last year. While it was tough to call that ranking unfair, it undoubtedly appeared to motivate Cunningham and the rest of the Red Foxes throughout the season.
Marist started 7-5, winning their first two MAAC games. Cunningham’s best performance in that stretch came in a victory over Lafayette, where she logged nine points on four-for-six shooting from the field, along with seven rebounds.
The Red Foxes built their victories around their defense this past season, with Cunningham playing a strong role on that end. Marist held teams to 59.0 points per game (fifth in the MAAC) and 38% shooting (second in the MAAC)
“For two years now, we’ve been able to put Catie on another team’s best post player,” said Doughty. “We’ll miss having that person who if you give her a detailed scout of an opponent, she’s going to know whether to take away a right or left hand or a go-to move.”
Cunningham and the Red Foxes put together three four-game win streaks. A thrilling 63-61 victory over Saint Peter’s notched their 16th win of the year, marking Cunningham’s first winning season of her collegiate career.
“It’s definitely an accomplishment,” said Cunningham. “I’m just glad I could leave it as a winning program. But I know they’re going to be so much better and have an even better record next year, so I’m just excited as a ‘soon to be alumni’ to watch them grow and grow under Coach E.”
Cunningham had her best chance to win her first MAAC tournament game as the No. 5 seed against Mount St. Mary’s. Despite the team’s success throughout the season, they trailed big, down 54-27 just over the midway point of the third quarter with their season hanging in the balance.
The senior and her teammates continued to fight the rest of the way, nearly completing the 27-point comeback, just missing a final shot to take the lead with under 10 seconds left.
Doughty elected to go with a press and create some kind of miracle over the final 13 minutes of action. Forcing turnovers and securing extra chances – an area where Cunningham strived throughout her entire time at Marist – became the game plan.
The senior guard played practically the entire fourth quarter, as Marist forced eight turnovers and scored 14 points off of them. Cunningham finished with five points, gaining extra possessions with three offensive rebounds while picking up a steal and a block.
“Everything Catie does is hustle,” said junior center Morgan Lee after the MAAC Quarterfinal loss. “[If there’s] anything that we can count on for Catie, it’s that she’s going to make a hustle play and that just encapsulates the person that she is. She’s a fighter and that showed today.”
Doughty mentioned how Cunningham always led by example but occasionally “chose her moments to speak.” One of those moments came against Mount St. Mary’s in the late surge.
“I told them before the game like ‘guys this could be my last college game; me, McKenna [Rife] and Brooke [Jarvis]. Please just give it your all no matter what the score is, no matter if we win or lose, that’s all I ask,’ and they did that, so I can’t be happier,” said Cunningham.
Cunningham has plenty of incredible individual plays and moments to look back on. Her strong defensive performance against Rider this past season and her clutch free throws against Niagara her junior year are a couple of favorites named by her and Doughty. A steal and layup to take the lead with just over 30 seconds remaining against Manhattan is the play that encapsulates her skill set.
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“She makes game-changing plays, whether it’s a big steal or a big offensive board or an and-one,” said Doughty. “I think she’s grown in her confidence and I think the experience of playing has helped her.”
Off the floor, Cunningham will miss walking around on campus on one of those rather rare sunny days more than anything. On the floor, though, it is the feeling of playing at McCann Arena and taking the court with the rest of her team that she will look back fondly on.
“I’m obviously going to miss the home crowd,” said Cunningham. “You can’t beat it, it’s the best in the MAAC. But just fighting and being in tough battles with my teammates, I think is the best part.”
Cunningham dealt with a handful of nagging injuries throughout her career. Whether it be her back, shoulder, ankle, etc., the senior pushed through the pain every game, no matter the circumstance.
“It shows me I can be stronger than I actually think I am,” said Cunningham about playing through injuries. “I mostly wanted to do it for my teammates and I know this was my last year playing, so I was obviously wanting to play as much as possible.”
The MAAC conference is always going to be an absolute dogfight, filled with relentless, hard-nosed players. But it will be losing one of the players who embodied that identity the most in Catie Cunningham.
For Doughty and the rest of that Marist roster, the hope is that Cunningham’s “give everything you got” mentality continues to ripple through the team next season.
Edited by Marley Pope and Ben Leeds
Graphic from Raegan Van Zandt
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