Fever make noise without Caitlin Clark on the floor? Get to know Sophie Cunningham
INDIANAPOLIS – Mystics rookie Kiki Iriafen threw Fever veteran Sophie Cunningham to the ground, and then Brittney Sykes shoved Cunningham to the ground. It was only the first half of the first preseason game for the 2025 Indiana Fever, but you had to wonder: Could the noise around our city’s WNBA franchise, which reached a fever pitch last season, get even more … feverish?
Seems possible, after one preseason game, which of course went to overtime — final score: Fever 79, Mystics 74 — and was trending nationally on X even with Fever star Caitlin Clark sitting it out with tightness in her left leg.
Here’s what seems likely:
The Fever fan base, which at times has felt like the largest fan base in the country, has another reason to love their team.
And the anti-Fever contingent — which at times a year ago felt like the largest fan base in the country — seems to have found another reason to root against our team.
Her name is Sophie Cunningham, and let’s be clear about something right now: She did nothing wrong Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where Fever fans came closer to filling the arena than Indiana Pacers fans do in the preseason. The relationship between this city and this team was palpable a year ago and, if anything, has grown. So has the devotion for Fever games elsewhere, whether fans in other cities are there to cheer or boo.
Put it like this:
According to StubHub, an online ticket broker, Fever games remain the hottest ticket in the WNBA. No big surprise — remember the demand for Fever tickets last season? But get this: According to StubHub, the demand for Fever games has jumped nearly 500% compared to this time last year.
Doesn’t even seem possible, does it? A year ago WNBA teams were moving games against the Fever into the largest arenas in town, and still selling out. What now? Moving Fever games into domed NFL stadiums?
Probably not, no. But let’s see what happens with Sophie Cunningham. After what happened Saturday, anything seems possible.
Kiki Iriafen vs. Sophie Cunningham: Huh?
It looked personal early in the second quarter, the way Kiki Iriafen wrapped her arms around Sophie Cunningham under the basket and threw the smaller player to the court. Cunningham seemed to think so, popping to her feet and approaching Iriafen as cameras caught her saying, “Don't (bleeping) do that, you don't (bleeping) do that.”
It looked personal a few minutes later when Mystics guard Brittney Sykes grabbed Cunningham on the perimeter and threw her to the court, then slowly walked toward her. Fever teammate DeWanna Bonner seemed to think so, meeting Sykes on the way and clapping in her face and saying something that looked very much like, “Nooooo!”
Was it personal, the way Cunningham was tossed around by two different Mystics players a few minutes apart? She’s a fiery player, to put it mildly, the kind of player fans love to cheer or boo, depending on the jersey she’s wearing. One of her nicknames: “Spicy Sophie.”
One anecdote from Saturday: When Sykes’ shoe pops off, Cunningham picks it up and parades it triumphantly with a big, harmless smile on her face before setting it back down. Another anecdote: Cunningham hits a 3-pointer and raises three fingers for the crowd. Another: After a Mystics turnover, Cunningham flaps her arms for more crowd noise, shouting: “Come on!!!”
Two weeks ago, Missouri assistant Liza Fruendt — Cunningham played for the Tigers from 2015-19, when Fruendt was playing for Missouri State — tweeted out the following:
“Soph and I had some battles in college. She was always someone you hated playing against but secretly would want on your team. Now we get to represent this program together.”
When “Sophie Cunningham” was the No. 3 trending topic nationally for more than an hour Saturday, thousands of folks were deciding that Kiki Iriafen was an American hero. Thousands of others were deciding Cunningham was their new favorite player.
Pretty soon, “Sophie Cunningham” had been replaced as the No. 3 trending topic nationally by another player’s name:
“Kiki Iriafen.”
Seriously, this was happening Saturday afternoon.
Is this going to happen all season? Again? Last season was exhausting, whether you went to Fever games or not, because the national noise was just … too much. It began with everyone’s fascination with the Pete Maravich-like playing style of Caitlin Clark, who passed Maravich to become the all-time scoring leader in NCAA Division I, but that fascination mushroomed into controversies in cities near and far.
The interest in Clark hasn’t abated, with the Fever scheduled to make a league-high 41 of 44 appearances on national TV this season. Their game Saturday against the Mystics was televised on NBA TV, and it was an exhibition. The Fever were scheduled to play the Brazilian national team Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
That game will be shown live on ESPN.
Everyone wants to watch Caitlin Clark. And now, they’ll want to see Sophie Cunningham.
Meanwhile, this is a team sport. And the Indiana Fever have quite the team.
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Fever won without Caitlin Clark
First possession of the game, the Fever push the ball up the court and design a play for Aliyah Boston to shoot a corner 3. In two WNBA seasons Boston is 11-for-36 on 3-pointers, but she drained this one, 21 seconds into the game. If Boston’s adding that to her game — the 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year and two-time All-Star averaged 14 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists last season — watch out.
Other end of the court. Opening minute. Mystics forward Emily Engstler attacks the rim, and Boston casually blocks it out of bounds. Moments later, Sykes tries the same thing. Another block for Boston, who averaged 1.3 blocks last season but had two in 2½ minutes Saturday. If she’s going to add more of that to her game … watch out.
The Fever have already added so much. Two-time WNBA champion and future Hall of Famer DeWanna Bonner averaged 15 points and six rebounds per game last season for the Connecticut Sun, and wanted to come here in free agency. So did three-time WNBA champion and former Defensive Player of the Year Natasha Howard (17.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.9 apg).
Bonner and Howard — who combined for 20 points, 12 rebounds and so much defensive pressure Saturday — join a starting lineup with Boston, 2024 Rookie of the Year Clark (19.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg, WNBA-best 8.4 apg) and two-time All-Star Kelsey Mitchell (19.2 ppg).
All but Clark played Saturday, and that was enough for the Fever to rally from a 15-point first-half deficit to defeat the Mystics. The Fever got a game-high 21 points from Cunningham, 13 from Lexie Hull, 12 from Mitchell and 11 from Howard.
The Fever are going for it this season, with a roster so stacked they might not be able to fit the full complement of players (12) under the salary cap. They have current or recent All-Stars at all five starting positions, and they have a bench featuring Sophie Cunningham (career high: 36 points) among others, and a first-rate coach in Stephanie White, and you wonder if what we saw Saturday — a stirring comeback win against the Mystics — is going to happen all the time this season.
You wonder what else is going to happen this season. And if it’s going to happen all the time, again.
Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Threads, or on BlueSky and Twitter at @GreggDoyelStar, or at www.facebook.com/greggdoyelstar. Subscribe to the free weekly Doyel on Demand newsletter.