Sophie Cunningham suffered a right knee injury during the Indiana Fever’s game against the Connecticut Sun on Sunday, adding to the team’s mounting injury woes. The veteran guard is scheduled for an MRI on Monday to determine the severity of the injury.
The incident happened early in the second quarter when Sun guard Bria Hartley fell and crashed into Cunningham’s right leg. Cunningham immediately collapsed to the floor in pain, grabbing her knee. After a brief assessment by the medical staff, she was helped to the locker room and later ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Despite losing Cunningham, the Fever staged a remarkable comeback. Trailing by as many as 21 points, Indiana rallied to defeat the Sun 99-93 in overtime. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, WNBA teams were 29-1,722 all time when trailing by 20-plus points before Sunday’s game, making this the largest comeback in Fever franchise history.
“At the time, it’s like, ‘crap,’ and then you go down there and see her and it’s like OK, just want her to be able to calm down and be able to regroup, and then it turns to problem solving,” said Fever coach Stephanie White. “How do we put ourselves in a position to win? What do we need to do? I think that’s how I survive.”
Kelsey Mitchell stepped up in Cunningham’s absence, scoring 38 points with 34 coming after halftime. Mitchell’s performance tied her career high and set the mark for most points by a WNBA player this season.
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Cunningham’s sister, Lindsey, expressed frustration over the incident on social media, posting: “WNBA, maybe you should focus less on fining players for commenting on your poor officiating & more about hiring officials that are able to call a consistent game and protect your athletes.” Sophie reposted her sister’s message.
The injury comes at a difficult time for the Fever, who are already dealing with significant backcourt injuries. Star rookie Caitlin Clark has been sidelined since July 15 with a groin injury, while guards Sydney Colson (ACL tear) and Aari McDonald (broken foot) are both out for the season.
Cunningham has been a key contributor for Indiana, especially since the All-Star break, averaging 12.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 steals on impressive shooting splits (55.1% field goals, 52.8% three-pointers, 90.9% free throws). This is her first season with the Fever after being traded from the Phoenix Mercury in the offseason.
To help with their depleted guard rotation, the Fever recently signed veteran Odyssey Sims to a hardship contract. Sims made her first start for Indiana on Sunday and contributed 19 points and 7 assists in the win.
With Sunday’s victory, the Fever improved to 19-16 and strengthened their playoff position. Their next game is scheduled for August 23 against the Minnesota Lynx, giving Cunningham five days to recover before potentially missing game time.
Despite the injury concern, Cunningham appeared to be in good spirits after the game, sharing an upbeat post on Instagram with the caption “august>” that included photos from the past month.
