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Sophie Cunningham Sends Warning to League After Fever Get Knocked Out of WNBA Playoffs

Kristen Wong

Fever guard Sophie Cunningham posted after her team's Game 5 elimination loss to the Aces on Tuesday night.
Fever guard Sophie Cunningham posted after her team's Game 5 elimination loss to the Aces on Tuesday night. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
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The Fever saw their season come to a dramatic end Tuesday night in Game 5's overtime loss to the Aces, with their short-handed squad falling painfully short of booking a spot in the WNBA finals.

Indiana fought hard until the final whistle but ultimately couldn't overcome the Aces' firepower, especially after their leading scorer Kelsey Mitchell left the game in the third quarter due to cramping. Following the 107-98 loss, Sophie Cunningham shared a team photo on social media and posted about how proud she was of the team's resilience over the past few weeks.

"us. can’t make this season up! so much to be proud of," Cunningham wrote.

She added: "you better believe we are coming for EVERYBODY next season."

The Fever were without Cunningham and Caitlin Clark, among a few others, for the entire playoff stretch, yet they still managed to force an elimination game against the Aces. Indiana beat the Dream in a three-game series in the first round of the postseason, which saw the team host its first playoff game since 2016. The Fever then took Game 1 in their semifinal series against Las Vegas, lost the next two, tied it up and finally were sent home in Game 5.

It was nothing short of a rollercoaster ride for Fever fans, who will be expecting similar playoff success next year with a hopefully healthy Clark leading the offense.

Cunningham will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason after playing out her one-year deal with the Fever, though given her close friendship with Clark (and her reputation as Clark's enforcer), it seems likely the team will bring her back. She averaged 8.6 points and 3.5 rebounds across 30 games prior to her season-ending knee injury on Aug. 17.

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

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