Stephanie White Explains How Sophie Cunningham Loss Led to Fever Roster Change

Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White got honest about how Sophie Cunningham's season-ending injury made for a tough roster decision.

Aug 5, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White at press conference at the Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Indiana Fever are extremely depleted right now when it comes to injuries. Back in July, star point guard Caitlin Clark suffered a groin injury that she still hasn't returned from, and there's no clear indication when (if at all) she's going to be back playing for the Fever this season.

On August 7, the Fever's other two point guards, Aari McDonald and Sydney Colson, both suffered season-ending injuries, with it being a broken foot for McDonald and a torn ACL for Colson. And on August 17, Sophie Cunningham sustained an MCL tear in her right knee that will keep her out for the remainder of the 2025 campaign.

Indiana's front office has brought several players onto the roster in order to atone for these injury woes. The most recent of these was 36-year-old veteran guard Shey Peddy, whom the Fever announced they had signed to a 7-day hardship contract on August 19.

Jun 17, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; LA Sparks guard Shey Peddy (7) dribbles the ball in the first half against the Seattle Storm at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Peddy has played in 122 WNBA games since entering the league in 2019. During that time, she has averaged 5.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists.

As a result of Indiana signing Peddy, this also meant they needed to release Kyra Lambert, whom they had signed last week.

Fever Coach Explains Sophie Cunningham Injury Impacting Fever Signing

Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White spoke with the media after her team's August 20 practice. At one point, she was asked how much Cunningham's injury her to the Fever's decision to sign Shey Peddy and release Lambert.

"I mean, [Cunningham's injury] had a lot to do with it. Because when you have Sophie on the floor, you have experience. And Kyra can start to learn this league, and she can really develop. And you can use her in spot minutes, with Sophie, and with [Aliyah Boston] on the floor, and [Odyssey Sims] on the floor, and with [Kelsey Mitchell] in those situations," White said, per the Fever's YouTube account.

"Now not having Sophie, who had been our backup point guard at that point, we needed somebody with experience. And Shey has experience in this league. She's good at getting people where they're supposed to get to, and getting teams organized. You know, we saw her earlier in the year, in LA.

"And so it made a difference. We needed another experienced player," White concluded.

It will be interesting to see how White allocates her point guard minutes during the Fever's August 22 game against the league-leading Minnesota Lynx.