Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston (7) and guard Sophie Cunningham (8) and forward Natasha Howard (6) during the game between the Dallas Wings and the Indiana Fever at the American Airlines Center. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Red-hot Fever are a threat even without Caitlin Clark

By Joe Rutland | Last updated Aug 4, 2025 1:05 PM ET

With Caitlin Clark still out with a groin injury, the Indiana Fever have had to pick up the slack against WNBA opponents.

The Fever keep on doing a fantastic job, though, winning a fifth straight game on Sunday over the Seattle Storm, 78-74. The Fever are red hot right now, even without Clark on the court.

Fever fans have watched intently as guard Sophie Cunningham has been running rampant over the team's foes. In Seattle on Sunday, Cunningham scored 17 points and hit four of five shots from beyond the three-point arc.

Clark has missed seven games due to her right groin injury. Seeing Cunningham out there hitting shots left and right probably makes her feel well. Cunningham has no complaints.

"I also think it shows the growth that we've had as a team because early in the season, we were just so inconsistent, and if teams were to do that, we would normally lose those games," Cunningham said after the victory, according to ESPN.

"Just shows that we're getting closer, we're trusting each other -- I think that's the biggest part is trusting and knowing that we can win those games even if they go on runs."

Fever coach Stephanie White, who is in her second tour of duty as the team's head coach, expressed joy over her team sticking together in the game.

"I was proud of our group for how we stayed -- not just together, because we always stay together -- but how we stayed even and we came down and we went to the next play," White said on Sunday. "We made some big plays in key moments that allowed us to win the ballgame."

Before her groin injury, Clark was averaging 16.5 points, five rebounds and 8.8 assists per game, according to StatMuse. Cunningham is averaging nearly eight points and 3.9 rebounds per game. But her numbers on Sunday definitely showed that she's raising her game at this time.

Entering play on Monday, the Fever are 17-12 for the season and seven games behind the front-running Minnesota Lynx. Indiana has the fifth overall best record in the WNBA, putting the Fever in position for a postseason berth.

What do the Fever need to do at this time? Keep playing hard while waiting for Clark to return. Cunningham can keep on being the cog of the Fever's offense. Its red-hot win streak puts Indiana in great position for continuing to be a big threat in the WNBA world.

Joe Rutland

Joe Rutland has contributed articles on sports, entertainment, and business to digital platforms like Athlon Sports, The Sporting News, Entrepreneur, The Huffington Post, The Good Men Project, and others. He's spent four decades in the communications industry as a journalist, editor, writer, and columnist. His sports areas of focus include MLB, NBA, college football, and WNBA

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