-
Alexa Philippou
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Indiana received another gut punch Sunday when guard Sophie Cunningham suffered a knee injury in the second quarter of their game against the Connecticut Sun, but the Fever did what they’ve been accustomed to all season in the face of adversity: fight.
Following Cunningham’s injury, Indiana mounted the largest comeback in franchise history, erasing a 21-point deficit to beat the Sun 99-93 in overtime.
“We came in at halftime, we talked about chipping away, being resilient,” said forward Aliyah Boston, who had 14 points and 13 rebounds. “That’s kind of been our story this entire season.”
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, WNBA teams were 29-1,722 all time when trailing by 20-plus points in a game entering Sunday.
“They’ve got something inside them you just can’t teach,” coach Stephanie White said. “They bring it out of each other. It allows us to go through these incredibly tough times that we’re going through and always gives us a chance.”
Every game matters at this point for the Fever (19-16), who are trying to hold on to playoff positioning without Caitlin Clark (groin) for the last month and after losing fellow point guards Aari McDonald and Sydney Colson to season-ending injuries in the same game on Aug. 7.
Indiana had dropped two straight home games to bottom-four teams in the standings entering Sunday’s road contest against the last-place Sun.
“There’s no other way,” Boston said. “If you spread apart, the season goes down quicker than anything else. We talk about with the injuries people are probably expecting us to just fold, and that’s not us.”
The Fever in large part have Kelsey Mitchell to thank after the All-Star guard caught fire in the second half Sunday. Mitchell rattled off 34 of her 38 points following halftime, tying a career high and registering the most points a WNBA player has scored this season.
“Speechless, really,” White said of Mitchell. “She just put us on her back.”
Cunningham suffered the injury early in the second period when Connecticut’s Bria Hartley fell into her right knee while trying to drive toward the basket. Cunningham hobbled on one leg clutching the knee before lying on the floor in pain.
The guard was surrounded by teammates for a few minutes before being assisted into the locker room, putting little weight on her right leg.
“I’m like, ‘Holy s—,'” White said of the moment.
Added Mitchell: “I felt like it was déjà vu. I just saw [Boston] on the ground covering somebody else up [following an injury].”
White said Cunningham will undergo an MRI on Monday.
The Fever managed just 29 points in the first half and trailed by 19 going into the locker room. But with a renewed focus and fueled by their teammate’s injury, they largely controlled the next 25 minutes on both ends, chipping away at the Sun’s advantage.
Indiana took better care of the ball, improved its spacing and saw recently acquired guard Odyssey Sims (19 points, 7 assists) get more comfortable as the game went on, while also locking in more on the defensive end.
The teams traded baskets in the final minute of regulation, with a Mitchell and-1 and Boston jumper helping force overtime. Mitchell then accounted for 10 of the team’s 15 points in the extra period.
“I really think that that’s the most resilient that we’ve ever been because of everything we’ve been through,” Mitchell said.
Leave a Reply