Stephanie White Hints at Sophie Cunningham Change After Indiana Fever Loss
Sophie Cunningham marked her return from a season-ending knee injury with a quiet performance in the Indiana Fever's season-opening loss to the Dallas Wings on Saturday.
Cunningham got the start for head coach Stephanie White, but the veteran guard finished with just three points on 1-of-2 shooting in 26 minutes of action. She added four rebounds, three assists and one triple, but it wasn't enough to help lift the Fever. Indiana lost its first game of the new WNBA season to Paige Bueckers and Co. 107-104.
Speaking to reporters during Monday's practice, Coach White conceded that the Fever need to utilize Cunningham more when she's on the court. This hints at a potential change in their approach for their next game, with Cunningham likely playing a bigger role.
"Yeah, I thought she was good," White said. "You know, Sophie's solid for us - on the defensive end, rebounding, her activity level, her communication.
"We've got to find her more though. I mean, you know, she's a knockdown three-point shooter. I thought we missed her a lot. We missed her open looks."
Cuningham played the fourth-most minutes for the Fever in their season-opener behind star trio Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston. Combined, those three accounted for 73 out of Indiana's 104 points. They also attempted 20 three-pointers between them, knocking down just five.
As White said, one of Cunningham's strengths is her effectiveness from beyond the arc. Last season, the 6-foot-1 guard connected on 1.7 triples per game on a 43.2% clip. White knows that they need to see more of this from Cunningham in 2026.
White also made it clear that she wants Cunningham to be more involved moving forward.
"You know, she's getting back to being an elite cutter because she's also a very good cutter, and she's a great ball mover," the Fever coach said. "So we've just got to get her more touches on the offensive end and just continue to rely on her to be that communicator and leader for us on the floor."
Was great to hear Steph admit they missed Soph on a lot of open shots in last game. Hopefully it's something they can work on and do better about. pic.twitter.com/d1ftK2F9eF
— KAYLA (@kbfever93) May 11, 2026
Cunningham will be looking to bounce back on Wednesday as the Fever take on the Los Angeles Sparks at Crypto.com Arena.
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This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 6:36 PM.