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Indiana Fever Rookie Left Sophie Cunningham Emotional on Tuesday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated Sep 17, 2025 7:02 AM ET

The Indiana Fever live to fight another day.

On Tuesday, the Fever secured their first WNBA playoff win in nearly a decade. More importantly, by taking down the Atlanta Dream in Game 2 of their first-round matchup, 77-60, Indiana was able to force a do-or-die Game 3 on Thursday.

Sophie Cunningham, who recently underwent season-ending surgery on her right knee, was not on the court to help her teammates in Game 2. The veteran guard, however, was passionately cheering from the bench alongside Caitlin Clark and the rest of Indiana’s injured crew.

After the game, Cunningham took to social media to shout out Fever teammate Makayla Timpson. The 22-year-old rookie was not the best player on the court on Tuesday, but Timpson came off the bench to make a significant impact on the game.

The 6-foot-2 forward center scored nine points on 3-of-3 shooting and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe. She also added three rebounds in just nine minutes of action.

Cunningham could not help but get emotional for her young teammate.

“rook ” Cunningham posted on her Instagram stories, sharing one of Timpson’s highlight plays against Atlanta.

Sophie Cunningham shouts out rookie Makayla Timpson

(via @sophie_cham on IG) pic.twitter.com/gaUBOjt5TP
— Paolo Songco (@PaoloSongcoNBA) September 17, 2025

Timpson’s time on the court was brief, but she certainly made them count. It is unclear if Timpson will get significant playing time again in Game 3 (she’s averaged just 7.1 minutes per game in the regular season). However, if her performance on Tuesday is any indication, Timpson will be ready for when her number is called — and Cunningham will be supporting her all the way.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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