Hall of Fame
Cunningham Armstrong, a native of Detroit and graduate of Plymouth Canton HS, is one of Wayne State's top playmakers in women's basketball history. The four-time letter winner started all 108 games played in her career, and finished with two career records, including most assists with 499. Cunningham lettered for the 1982-83, 1983-84, 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons. Besides her playmaking skills, Cunningham contributed offensively for Wayne. She finished second in career scoring with 1,198 points, and her 36-point total in WSU's 101-82 victory over Fairmont State, WV, on Nov. 30, 1985 was and remains the second-highest single-game point total in WSU history. Cunningham also set three Tartar single-season records in her career. In the same Fairmont State contest she pumped in 16 field goals, tying the record first set in 1977. During her freshman season, 1982-83, Cunningham dished out a record 14 assists versus Michigan-Dearborn on Dec. 7. And in 1984-84, her junior year, Cunningham made 11 steals at Grand Valley State (1-10-85), which was also then the GVSU Fieldhouse Record. All three Tartar single-game marks still stand in the record book. Besides finishing second in career scoring, Cunningham finished second in career free throws made (226) and career field goals made (486). She finished in double-figure scoring three of her four seasons, and she recorded a career scoring average of 11.1 points per game. Cunningham served as the Tartars' co-captain for two seasons. Her co-captain in 1984-85 is Lisa C. Gentry, who is also being inducted today into the Athletic Hall of Fame. Heading in to the 1984-85 season, The South End noted that "there is no way this year's team should win more than five or six games, tops." Cunningham led the team to a 16-11 overall record and second place finish in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) at 12-4. Cunningham was named to the 1985 All-GLIAC Women's Basketball First Team. She is a two-time graduate of Wayne State, having earned a Bachelor of Arts in Education with a social studies major in 1987, and a Masters of Arts in Education with a language arts specialization in 1994. Cunningham's husband, Daran Armstrong, played two seasons with Wayne State's men's basketball team from 1981-83. After graduating in 1987, Cunningham began her teaching career, and in 1989 she joined the Brighton, Mich., Area Schools. Currently Cunningham teaches history and French at Scranton Middle School in Brighton. She has coached middle school girls' basketball and volleyball in the Brighton district, and served as the high school's freshman girls' basketball coach. An avid recreational athlete, Cunningham still plays basketball with former Tartars Gentry, Sheila (Baron) Snyder, Ann Roy, and another Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, Lori Januszkiewicz. In high school, Cunningham played basketball and softball. Her junior season she made 10th team All-State Class A in basketball and was a sixth team member her senior year. She was also all-league both of those seasons, and honorable mention as a sophomore. In 1980, Cunningham was named MVP of Michigan's Summer Camp, and at the 1981 Illinois State Camp, Cunningham was named an all-star. On the softball diamond Cunningham earned all-league and all-state honorable mention status. The Armstrongs reside in Brighton, Mich., and are the parents of three children, Brock, Jackson, and Sloan.
