Sophie Cunningham injury update: Fever guard will miss rest of season with knee injury
On Tuesday, the Fever announced Cunningham's first season with the team is over after, sources told the Indy Star, part of USA TODAY network, she suffered a torn MCL in her right knee. The Fever added that Cunningham is expected to make a full recovery.
The incident happened early in the second quarter when Sun guard Bria Hartley fell into Cunningham's right knee while trying to drive the basket. Cunningham grabbed her right leg and hopped to the baseline, then fell to the floor, grabbing her knee and yelling in pain. The Fever called timeout and Cunningham was quickly surrounded by her teammates, who held up towels to shield her from the crowd. She was eventually helped off the floor and to the locker room and did not return.
Cunningham, who turned 29 on Aug. 16, was held scoreless (0-of-3 FG, 0-of-3 3PT) in 10 minutes of play before exiting. She's averaging 8.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 30 games this season for the Fever, while shooting a career-high 46.9% from the field and a career-high 43.2% from the field.
SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM: Fever guard has knee injury, knocked from Sun game
Cunningham's injury marks the latest blow in the Fever's injury-plagued season. All-Star point guard Caitlin Clark has missed 22 of the Fever's 35 games this season due to various injuries, including a right groin injury that has kept her sidelined for 13 consecutive games. The Fever lost guards Sydney Colson (left ACL tear) and Aari McDonald (broken right foot) to season-ending injuries in the Fever's 107-101 win against the Phoenix Mercury, further depleting the team's backcourt.
"It was a quick turnaround, figuring out how we were going to play without Aari (McDonald) and Syd (Colson) and now we have to figure out how we're going to play without Soph (Cunningham)," Fever head coach Stephanie White said on Sunday after her team's overtime win.
To make matters worse, the Fever's schedule doesn't get any easier down the final stretch. The Fever will host the defending champion Minnesota Lynx on Aug. 22, before traveling to Minneapolis to take on the Lynx again on Aug. 24. The Fever also have upcoming matchups against Seattle (Aug. 26), Los Angeles (Aug. 29) and Golden State (Aug. 31). Indiana is currently in playoff contention in sixth place at 19-16 on the season.
To address Indiana's glaring need at the point guard position, the Fever signed guard Odyssey Sims to a hardship contract on Aug. 10 and an additional seven-day hardship contract on Aug. 17. Indiana also signed guard Kyra Lambert to a seven-day contract on Aug. 14. Following the news of Cunningham's injury, the Fever signed guard Shey Peddy to a seven-day hardship contract and released Lambert.
White got emotional talking about her team's resilience and constant struggle with injuries.
"They're good human beings, they're selfless, they're tough ... They just got something inside of them that you can't teach and 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," White said. "I'm just so incredibly proud of them for continuing to believe and for continuing to pull together and for continuing to step up."
Contributing: Steve Gardner
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