It wasn’t the result that the Indiana Fever would have wanted, as they lost 91-85 to the Dallas Wings on Thursday. And, of course, Fever HC Stephanie White wasn’t quite pleased with the result and the performance that delivered it. However, she was still quite proud of her team with how far they’ve come this season, and how they have continued to show up on a day-to-day basis.
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“These women are really incredible in being able to keep the main thing the main thing. And I give them a ton of credit because it’s not easy, and they show up every day. Not every day is a great day, but they show up every day, and they work, and they pull for each other, and they’re selfless.”
“And if it’s not your day and it’s somebody else’s, they’re pouring into whoever that is. And that’s a really important quality and what’s allowed our group to continue to move forward…” Stephanie White said in the post-game press conference.
Speaking of it not being their day, Sophie Cunningham was one player in that game who seemed to fit that description. Cunningham, who played 15 minutes of the game, ended up with zero points, rebounds, assists, steals, or blocks. She went 0-for-4 from the field, with all four of her attempts coming from beyond the three-point line.
That performance, of course, sparked different reactions from fans across social media. And as expected, they were definitely not pleased with the performance she had, with many expressing their frustration over her quiet night.
It was, however, not only Sophie Cunningham who had quite a rough day at work against the Dallas Wings. Caitlin Clark also ended up with only 10 points. While she still managed to distribute the ball effectively, ending up with nine assists, she struggled heavily with her shooting efficiency. She shot a brutal 4-for-15 from the field and 2-for-8 from three-point range, missing five of her six open shot attempts.
Perhaps the only player who would qualify as being on her day would be Kelsey Mitchell, who ended the game with a whopping 37 points. She also had five assists, a rebound, and a steal to go with it. In fact, her 37-point performance also got her the WNBA record for the most consecutive games with 20+ points, having now scored 20 or more points in 21 straight games.
However, with Caitlin Clark’s playmaking and shooting getting disrupted by Dallas’ hard defense, the best offensive side in the league still sits on top of the league with 96.1 points per game.
However, Stephanie White was also critical of her team’s performance in the first half, which they finished tied at 42-42.
“I thought the first half was worse than the second half. I thought our energy, our activity, our awareness wasn’t great in the first half at all. It was almost like we were sleepwalking.”
They will be hoping to get back to winning ways when they face the New York Liberty in their next game on Saturday. Hopefully, every player who is needed will be on their day when they take the court again.