Cunningham's Inferno from Deep Ignites Fever
WNBA Indiana Fever

Cunningham's Inferno from Deep Ignites Fever

August 8, 2025 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Indiana Fever News Release


Sophie Cunningham's blistering efficiency from 3-point range is igniting a shorthanded Fever team as they dive into the month of August poised to make a run for top playoff seeding.

Cunningham has been automatic from deep in the month of August. She's recorded a 3-point percentage better than 50 percent in three of Indiana's last four games, and hit 11 of her 18 attempts from beyond the arc in that same span. Armed with a 61 percent success rate from range this month, Cunningham and the Fever return home on Saturday to take on the Chicago Sky as they attempt to snap a two-game skid.

Cunningham's recent shooting isn't just a hot streak - she's knocking down a career-high 43.6 percent of her 3-pointers this season. In Caitlin Clark's absence, Cunningham is adding dimensions to Indiana's offense.

Now occupying the fifth-place slot in the WNBA standings, Indiana is 2.5 games behind Phoenix and Atlanta, but has a friendly stretch of schedule with three consecutive home games against sub .500 teams. Chicago, Dallas, and Washington come to town this week as the Fever look to stack wins down the stretch.

Cunningham's shooting is a critical point in that endeavor.

Her efficiency from long-range is one factor, but Cunningham is cruising to a career-high field goal percentage as well. This season, she's knocking down 47.9 percent of her shots - a full 3 percent increase from her previous career-high of 44.9 percent should it hold.

And she's doing more than just scoring - Cunningham recorded her second career double-double against the Atlanta Dream in mid-July as she logged 16 points and 10 rebounds in a crucial Fever win.

"There's always a fire in you," Cunningham said after Indiana's recent loss in Phoenix. "And I think the biggest thing is that everyone's always going to fail. And I think if you're not trying, or if you're not failing, then you're not pushing yourself hard enough.

"...You just have to kind of stack the days. And I just think if you keep showing up and you keep working hard, good things are going to happen."

Steady in the face of adversity, Cunningham and the Fever look ahead as they prepare to snap one streak and create a new one. Indiana hasn't lost three consecutive games more than once this season, and that instance was all the way back in late May.

Cunningham wasn't in the starting lineup then, and has seen her role shift throughout a tumultuous season for an injury-plagued Fever squad. She even dealt with her own ankle injury early on, but battled back to be a vital piece in Indiana's rotation.

"Your role will change, but for me it's always my energy," Cunningham said when asked about consistency despite role fluidity. "...It's always being kind of the feisty, sassy player. And so whatever the team needs me to do on that given night, I'm going to do."

Right now, the team needs her hot shooting to ignite the rest of Indiana's offense, and coach Stephanie White hopes that firepower will spread to the defensive end of the floor. More than anything, however, the Fever need to stack wins.

And in order to stack wins, Indiana first needs to stack days.

"I think we know where we're at in this part of the season," Cunningham said. "We have to play with a sense of urgency, continue to stack the days, continue to be consistent...And I think we're doing a really good job of that."

Indiana returns to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to take on the Chicago Sky on Saturday, Aug. 9, 8:00 PM ET.

Check out the Indiana Fever Statistics



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from August 8, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central