Sophie Cunningham erupts for 24 points, but Fever need her to stay 'dialed in'

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham. Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Sophie Cunningham erupts for 24 points, but Fever need her to stay 'dialed in'

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Jun 16, 2026 11:18 PM ET

The Indiana Fever hope guard Sophie Cunningham's scoring barrage on Tuesday night isn't a one-time deal.

Cunningham scored a season-high 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field (6-of-7 from three) in a 113-91 WNBA Commissioner Cup win over the Toronto Tempo (7-8, 2-4 Commissioner's Cup) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

With the win, the Fever are now 9-5 and 5-1 in the Commissioner's Cup. Indiana won't play in the in-season tournament's championship game after losing to the New York Liberty (10-4, 5-0 in Commissioner Cup play) 83-75 on June 6. The teams with the best records in the Western and Eastern Conferences in tournament play advance to the title game, scheduled for June 30. Head-to-head results determine tiebreakers.

If Cunningham delivers more games like the one on Tuesday, that would matter way more for the Fever than winning the Commissioner's Cup.

Sophie Cunningham matched her career-high in threes tonight against the Tempo pic.twitter.com/EmMwzrdTWo
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) June 17, 2026

Fever needs more from Sophie Cunningham on offense

Entering Tuesday night, Cunningham was averaging 8.9 points per game (the third-best mark of her eight-year career) on an efficient 47.9 percent shooting from the field. That's not bad, but it's not enough for the Fever.

Indiana is looking for a reliable fourth option behind star guards Caitlin Clark (20.3 PPG) and Kelsey Mitchell (20.3 PPG) and center Aliyah Boston (17 PPG). (All averages were entering Tuesday night.)

Cunningham hasn't become that yet — but she's close. She scored 11 points in the final two minutes of an 85-75 win over the Connecticut Sun on Sunday. Perhaps that was an omen that she would erupt on Tuesday night.

"We gotta protect our home court," Cunningham said in a postgame interview. "...Proud of our whole team, I think we really dialed in tonight."

And if Cunningham can stay "dialed in," the Fever will become a much more dangerous team.

Clark Dalton

Clark Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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