Stephanie White Notes What Fever Lose Without Sophie Cunningham Amid Practice Absence

Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White addressed what her team misses out on when Sophie Cunningham is sidelined.

Stephanie White, new Indiana Fever head coach, speaks Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, during a press conference held on Salesforce Court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. | Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham suffered a rolled ankle during the third quarter of the team's May 10 preseason game against the Atlanta Dream.

After Cunningham landed on Dream player Rhyne Howard's foot while going for a rebound, she hobbled into the locker room and didn't return for the rest of the game.

Fever head coach Stephanie White spoke about Cunningham's injury during a May 13 media scrum, saying, “It’s going to be a day-to-day thing, just seeing how she recovers. Just day-to-day. I'll depend on our training staff to tell me what she's capable of doing every day, and we'll see how it goes."

White spoke with the media again after the Fever's May 14 practice. And while she didn't have a more concrete update on Cunningham (who didn't participate in practice for a second consecutive day), she did address what the Fever miss when she isn't on the court.

"It felt a little bit different without Sophie out there, just because she brings so much energy, and she's like this big bright light that comes in," White said when asked whether practices are different now that there's a real game on the horizon, per a YouTube video from Scott Agness. "So that felt a little bit different. But as far as our attention to detail, and our focus, and our energy and competitiveness, no."

While Indiana has a deep roster than can certainly still succeed without Cunningham's scoring ability, that energy and intensity she brings to the court is irreplaceable to the Fever, and is something they're surely hoping to have when they face the Chicago Sky on Saturday.