Caitlin Clark watches Sophie Cunningham’s role shrink as the Fever prepare for the WNBA playoffs
The Fever suffered their first double-digit loss since July in their last game against Washington
The 30th WNBA regular season is coming to an end this week with Thursday being the last day of action before the playoffs begin on September 27th with the first round being a best-of-three series.
Although the eight playoff-bound teams ( Lynx , Valkyries , Aces , Dream , Fever , Liberty , Wings , Mystics ) have been locked in for weeks, exact seeding remains undecided with only two games left, featuring a tight race for positions six through eight and the second-place Valkyries hunting down Minnesota at the top of the table.
For the league's most popular franchise, the Indiana Fever, the final stretch is intensely demanding with their last two matchups pitting them against the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx both at home and on the road.
Right now, the Fever sit in fifth place in the overall standings, but can finish as low as the eighth seed or as high as third depending on this week's results.
Sophie Cunningham and Lexie Hull See Playing Time Dip
In the Fever's last outing , the team stumbled in a 93-77 defeat to the Washington Mystics, marking their first double-digit loss since July 15 and the first time they scored fewer than 80 points since that same mid-July stumble against the Valkyries.
The tactical adjustments led to notable shifts in playing time, with sharpshooters Lexie Hull and Sophie Cunningham seeing their roles shrink significantly. Hull struggled to find a rhythm and was benched at halftime in favor of rookie Raven Johnson , finishing with just 13 minutes of action.
Meanwhile, Cunningham, typically Indiana's primary sparkplug off the bench, logged a mere 7 minutes on the floor and went 0-for-2 from the field , failing to record a point, rebound, or assist.
Speaking to reporters after the game, coach White addressed what she needs from the supporting cast moving forward: "We've got to get them the ball in positions to get good shots, and make shots. And they've got to help us on the defensive end and rebounding the basketball."
Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell Lead Record-Breaking Offense
Even with the setback, Indiana boasts the most explosive offense in league history , averaging 96.7 points per game with a record 20 games scoring over 100 points .
Spearheaded by Kelsey Mitchell (averaging 25.1 points per game , second-best in the WNBA) and maestro Caitlin Clark , who is orchestrating the most offensively productive season in league history as the third-best scorer ( 22.7 PPG ) and assist leader ( 8.4 APG ), the superstar backcourt combined for another milestone.
During the loss, both players crossed the 20-point threshold , extending their shared WNBA single-season record to 21 games with 20+ points each.
However, a brutal defensive start and early offensive stagnation, compounded by foul trouble for Aliyah Boston , exposed vulnerabilities against a tough Mystics frontline, prompting head coach Stephanie White to aggressively adjust her rotations.
As the postseason approaches, tightening rotations is expected, but the recent struggles underscore a glaring reality: the Fever remain heavily reliant on their elite trio of Clark, Mitchell, and Boston , all of whom are premier All-Star talents ranked among the league's top-tier performers.
