Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham was taken out of Sunday’s game against the Connecticut Sun with a knee injury during the second quarter of Indiana’s 99-93 overtime victory.Cunningham’s injury is the latest for the Fever, who have lost most of their guards due to injury.
Cunningham rotated over on defense along the baseline to cut off Sun guard Bria Hartley, who attempted a pass to the corner. The ball was intercepted by Lexie Hull, but in the aftermath, Hartley lost her balance and tumbled into Cunningham’s right leg. Cunningham instantly went down, clutching her knee in clear pain. Medical staff from the Fever rushed onto the court while her teammates and coaches gathered closely around her. After a quick evaluation, she was assisted to her feet and guided back to the locker room.
Cunningham was traded to the Fever in the offseason after spending her first six seasons with the Phoenix Mercury. Since the All-Star break, Cunningham was averaging 12.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals on 55.1/52.8/90.9 shooting splits.
As of press time there was no diagnosis or a timeline for Cunningham’s return; she previously missed five games this season due to ankle injuries in May and June. The injury-plagued Fever has also seen Caitlin Clark missing most of the season with a groin injury, and their other two point guards — Aari McDonald and veteran Sydney Colson — both suffered season-ending injuries in a loss to the Phoenix Mercury earlier this month (Colson suffered an ACL tear, while McDonald was injured with a broken bone in her foot). The Fever signed veteran guard Odyssey Sims last week to a hardship contract to help replenish their point guard depth, who made her first start for Indiana on Sunday.
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