Sophie Cunningham Laments Fever's Lack of Pace in Loss to Valkyries

Sophie Cunningham pinpointed where the Indiana Fever struggled offensively in their July 15 loss to the Golden State Valkyries.

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Indiana Fever came up short to the Golden State Valkyries on July 15 by a score of 88-75.

The 75 points Indiana scored were their lowest point total of the season to this point. And Sophie Cunningham (who finished with 10 points in 27 minutes) cited the Fever's unusually slow pace as a reason why they struggled on that end of the floor when speaking to the media postgame.

When Cunningham was asked where she thought the Fever struggled offensively against Golden State, she said, "Man, I think we had a little bit too many turnovers. They definitely slowed the pace down. And at the end of the day, we've gotta play what works for us; we've got to keep our pace high, we've got to play our defensive schemes, take care of business on the defensive end, get boards, and run. That's what we're good at," per a YouTube video from the Fever.

"We have people who are great on the open court," Cunningham added while gesturing toward Caitlin Clark, who was sitting next to her. "So I just think we lacked pace tonight, honestly."

Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams (1) shoots a jumpshot over Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Valkyries Continue to Assert Defensive Strength Against Fever

Pace is usually not the problem for the Fever. Even after this loss, their 93.2 points per game still lead the WNBA, and their 99.17 pace is right behind the Los Angeles Sparks (99.24) for the best in the league.

Granted, just about every WNBA team struggled to implement their offensive game plan against the Valkyries. Golden State's 100.2 defensive rating is the best in the league this season, and the 76.1 points per game they've allowed to this point is close to six points fewer than the next-best team (the Minnesota Lynx, who allow 81.9 points per game).

As Cunningham alluded to, the Fever also thrive when they're able to get out in transition, which often comes after turnovers. But the Valkyries do turn the ball over (13.8 per game, which is tied for 10th); they only allow 12.2 points off those turnovers per game, which is the best in the league.

All of this is to say that the Valkyries were able to do what they do best against Indiana on Wednesday night. Luckily, the Fever don't play the Valkyries for the rest of the regular season. But there's a chance these two teams would match up in the postseason, which doesn't seem like an ideal series for the Fever, who have a combined 1-5 record against Golden State over the past two seasons.