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Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham didn’t mince her 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 sidelines, and Cunningham took issue with the team’s play.
“We have all the elements we need (to win), but you have to know your role, do it and also be tough,” Cunningham said. “We’re just too soft right now, and that’s not what our identity is, 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/Imagn Images)
On Monday, Clark and White said they had moved on from their argument on the sidelines. 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 hopefully we’ve kind of turned the page,” Cunningham said. “I think we were out there for an hour and a half, almost two hours and we rebuilt all the layers. I think everyone is on the right page right now and ready to work. We will say it started (as a) coaches meeting and ended up being players. It was definitely necessary, though.”
Cunningham and All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell did not release details about what was discussed, and White said the meeting did not last as long as Cunningham thought.
Clearly, though, everyone thought it was necessary and valuable after TV cameras caught the incident between Clark and White during Saturday night’s 100-84 loss to Portland — an expansion Indiana team beaten by 17 points just 10 days earlier without Clark.
CAITLIN CLARK FANS BURST AT HEAD COACH STEPHANIE WHITE AFTER FEVER LOSS TO PORTLAND FIRE
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 Clark and White’s secondary incident as being part of a family.
“I think it’s part of being a family,” she 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 it doesn’t break us, and I think losing is important because you learn a lot about yourself, about where you need to be, where you’re missing the mark and I’m glad that’s happening now. If there’s any frustration, I’d rather it be now than later.”
The Fever are currently 4-4 and a half 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 many key players due to injuries.
Fever’s offense has been great. They average a league-best 91.8 points per game; the problem is their defense. They allow 89 points per game, which is the second most points 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 Gonzales/Imagn Images)
Cunningham said the team didn’t even watch film of their loss to the Fire in an effort to move on.
“We didn’t even watch the film (of the Portland game), which tells you how bad it is because normally she (White) watches every second of it. We wanted to eliminate that one, everyone knew it was bad. We all watched it for ourselves 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 p.m. ET on Thursday.
