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Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham didn’t mince words about the team’s recent struggles.
The Fever lost back-to-back games on the West Coast, while Caitlin Clark and head coach Stephanie White went viral for an altercation on the sideline, and Cunningham took issue with the team’s play.
“We have all the pieces we need (to win), but it’s about knowing your role, stepping into your role and also being tough,” Cunningham said. “We’re too soft right now and that’s not our identity, so we need to move away from that.”
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Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham plays against the Seattle Storm at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana on May 17, 2026. (Trevor Ruszkowski/Image Images)
On Monday, Clark and White said they had moved on from their dispute on the bench. Cunningham said the team had a meeting Tuesday and hopes it will help turn the page.
“We had a team meeting (Monday), a long meeting, and we hope we’ve turned the page,” Cunningham said. “I think we were there an hour and a half, almost two hours and we put all the layers back together. I think everyone is on a good page right now and ready to work. We’ll say it started (as) a coaches (meeting) and then it ended up being players. It was very necessary, though.”
Cunningham and All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell did not divulge details about what was discussed, and White said the meeting did not last as long as Cunningham thought.
However, everyone clearly thought it was necessary and valuable after television cameras caught the incident between Clark and White during Saturday night’s 100-84 loss to Portland, an expansion team that Indiana beat by 17 points just 10 days earlier without Clark.
CAITLIN CLARK FANS BURST AT COACH STEPHANIE WHITE AFTER LOSS TO PORTLAND FIRE FEVER
Indiana Fever guards Sophie Cunningham and Caitlin Clark stand side by side during the second half against the Portland Fire at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on May 30, 2026. (Jaime Valdez/Imagn Images)
Mitchell explained the Clark and White incident as part of being a family.
“I think it’s part of being a family,” he said. “If you think it’s all glitz and glamour, then you’re wrong. I think tough times can make or break you and hopefully they don’t break us, and I think losing is important because you find out a lot about yourself, about where you’re meant to be, where you’re failing and I’m happy that’s happening now. If there’s frustration, I’d rather it be now than later.”
The Fever are currently 4-4 and a half game out of the final playoff spot. They entered the season with high expectations after falling one win short of reaching the WNBA Finals despite missing a host of key players due to injuries.
The Fever offense has been great. They average 91.8 points per game, the best in the league; The problem is his defense. They allow 89 points per game, the second most in the WNBA.
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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark waits for play to resume during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, on May 28, 2026. (David González/Imagn Images)
Cunningham said the team didn’t even watch film of its loss to the Fire in an effort to move forward.
“We didn’t even watch the film (of the Portland game), which tells you how bad it is because normally she (White) is watching every second of it. We wanted to eliminate that, everyone knew it was bad. We all saw it on our own and it’s just unacceptable. We’re too good to play like that.”
The Fever will look to turn things around when they play Angel Reese’s Atlanta Dream at 7 pm ET on Thursday.
