"Hey Eva, can we order anything off the menu?"

"Can we get whatever we want?"

"Can we get fried food?"

"Yeah, you can get whatever you want," Cunningham says automatically. "I think you can. Hey, wait. I don't know. Why don't you ask coach?"

"They're always doing this," Cunningham explains with a smile and shake of her head. "They always ask me everything. Or else they'll have me ask coach."

In part, it's because she's the lone senior on a team dominated by sophomores and freshmen.

Then again, it's a role she's played ever since she came to Niagara four years ago. Even upperclassmen would look to their younger counterpart for answers - or for her to put in a good word with coach Bill Agronin in regards to postgame meals or movie requests on bus rides home.

Cunningham, 21, just seems as if she were born to make decisions. Her play certainly casts her in that light. The East Aurora native has been the catalyst for the recent bout of success on Monteagle Ridge.

Her teammates and coaches would agree, it's no coincidence that since Cunningham became a full-time starter her sophomore year, Niagara has won 49 games and lost only 23.

"I know a lot of people use this phrase, but it's true - Eva is just Eva," said Colleen Toetz, who graduated from Niagara last year. "Her ability to see the floor and read her teammates makes her an effective point guard. And it never hurts that when the pass isn't there, she can find a variety of ways of scoring. She opens up things for others on offense and gets important stops on defense."

Those sentiments are echoed by everyone who has played with Cunningham. Her former teammates sing her praises both for her ability on the court and her easygoing personality.

"Sorry, I kind of got carried away," Ann Mimm wrote after sending a lengthy e-mail listing Cunningham's positive attributes. "On the court, everyone looks up to Eva. Off the court, everyone loves Eva. I really think Eva was always the most well-liked girl on the team."

"She is not only a great basketball player, but she is an amazing friend," said Jessica Kemp. "I miss her."

There's just something about Cunningham that makes her loved by contemporaries and respected by coaches, parents and officials.

She is reserved and a bit bashful, which often gets misread as standoffish. ("I didn't know she spoke English until she was a sophomore in college," joked Mike Talluto, who has officiated many of her high school and college games. "She never spoke a word to anyone - a coach, an official, a spectator - except to call out a play.")

She is humble, despite having accolades and attention heaped on her since she was a standout at Iroquois High School. (Don't get her started on this year's Niagara media guide, which features only her on the cover. It still embarrasses her.)

She is a jock, through and through, and an admitted basketball junkie. (She often jokes with Agronin when he gives the team the annual speech about studying for finals. "I always tell him I'm here for basketball, not academics," she said with a sly smile. "That drives him crazy.")

Cunningham may command a lot of attention in the scouting reports (she's averaging 17.2 points, 5.9 assists and 3.8 rebounds), but rarely is she in the center of the team hubbub. She spends more time laughing at her teammates' antics than serving as court jester. She's laid back with a calming spirit, something that gives her the perfect disposition for a point guard.

To watch Cunningham play is to be oblivious to the score. Her team could be up by 20 or down by three with a minute left and her expression and attitude would be the same.

"It's not points, it's not her passing, it's not her defense, it's just her presence on the court that I think makes her the person that she is," Agronin said. "Her personality, her demeanor is every bit as important as her ability to shoot or pass. She's that quiet leader on the court and has the ability not to let her emotions get to her."

Her unassuming leadership style, her humility and her work ethic combined with her impressive basketball IQ have been Cunningham's package since high school. While others can get caught up in numbers and headlines, she never seems affected by the trappings of attention.

"Eva wasn't outgoing or into the glamour, but she could see basketball was her thruway," Talluto said. "It was what she was going to do, and she was going to focus and make herself the best she could. She got such respect from the other kids because she was willing to do the little things, the sweaty things and to get dirty."

Though she played field hockey and softball, basketball was the only thing Cunningham ever wanted to do. Willing to put in the extra work and play on AAU teams, she got extra motivation and discipline from her parents. Though her mother (also named Eva) and father (John, who played football in high school) were not basketball savvy, they immersed the family in hoop culture once Eva's talent and drive became apparent.

Basketball became a serious family affair. Her younger siblings, John and Grace, took up the hoop trade, too. Ground rules were set and goals were to be achieved. If Eva was going to be a serious basketball player, she had to give it serious effort, and her parents were her dream enforcers.

"We did set rules and expectations," her mother said. "She was always allowed to quit, but at the same time we had an agreement. It cost a lot in time and money and driving to tournaments all around the United States. Anytime she wanted to stop, that would be fine. But if you want to do it, you have to give it everything. That's the rule."

Cunningham responded well to the structure, and her family became the primary reason for her choosing Niagara. That way, her whole extended family - including grandparents, aunts, close friends, the entire town of East Aurora - could regularly see her play. Their support becomes so boisterous, Gallagher Center games sometimes resemble a rally of the Eva Cunningham fan club.

"Yeah, that's the team joke," Cunningham said.

She even warns her friends on other teams that they'll hear her mother from the stands. Sure enough, before the opening tipoff comes a booming voice: "SHOOT IT EVIE!" The line is heard repeatedly throughout the course of the game.

"That's how they've always been, so I'm used to it," Cunningham said of her family's vocal support. "I always wanted to play well for them, and I still want to play well for them. When they're watching me, I don't want to have a bad game. Every game I go out there thinking, "OK, you've got to play good, play smart.' I mean, they're not that strict. They just wanted what was best for me, and this is what I wanted to do."

e-mail: amoritz@buffnews.com