The Indiana Fever know all about generational rookies. They arguably had the best on their roster last year in Caitlin Clark. However, they have been dealt two blows by the ‘Caitlin Clarks’ of 2025. First, they were knocked by the exquisite artistry of Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings. Then, Sonia Citron, along with her All-Star teammate Kiki Iriafen, punched the Fever in their gut.

Citron led all scorers with 21 points, while Iriafen had 18 points and 12 rebounds as they led the Washington Mystics to beat the Fever 88-84. Caitlin Clark missed her 12th straight game with a right groin strain, and Stephanie White had no answers to the talented rooks. Their emergency point guard, Odyssey Sims, improved from her first game, but she still played only 13 minutes. Without a point guard on the floor, the team suffered a domino effect affecting both ends of the court, as pointed out by Sophie Cunningham after the game. 

Cunningham explained to the media after the loss, “Yeah, you know, I think we’re just kind of slow and every time that we’re slow, especially defensively. It just somehow affects our offense. And so I think the thing that we just have to continue to do is that kind of got us on the run we had before the last couple of games was we were aggressive after the opponent’s attack on defense. And that led to easy transition buckets. That led to everyone being aggressive and on their front foot on the offensive end.”

The Indiana Fever that we know thrives on fast-break points, especially with Clark on the court. Even with her off, they have managed to retain that identity and maintain their ability to catch opponents in transition. In the last 10 games, the Fever have 11.6 fast break points per game. Against the Sky, they had 13 as compared to just 9 against the Mystics. That four-point gap was the exact number between the two teams after the final whistle. If we look at their wins, they have been built on those transition buckets. 

With no point guard on the court for most of the game, many players are in unknown territory, leading to slow decision-making. They are thinking twice before making any play because many of the players are not used to being in that position. Those pacy plays need exactly the opposite of that. The new players don’t help either, as Kyra Lambert and Sims are still acclimatizing to their new teammates and structure. 

However, these problems don’t help with what’s in store for the Fever. ESPN highlighted two of its remaining 10 games as crucial for the budding playoff race. Fever’s on-road clash against DeWanna Bonner’s Phoenix Mercury made the list, while their third clash in 10 games against the Minnesota Lynx was another date to mark. Indiana has a pretty strict schedule ahead, but like Kelsey Mitchell said, “We got to laugh to keep from crying.” That’s the attitude this Fever squad is keeping as Cunningham is determined to take something positive from their current crisis. 

Cunningham Believes Current Setbacks Will Fuel Future Success

Few teams have been rocked with injuries more than the Indiana Fever. Their cornerstone in Clark has played only 13 games and is nowhere close to her return. Cunningham herself has dealt with injuries. As the icing on the cake, both of their remaining point guards in Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald suffered season-ending injuries in the same game. No team could have been prepared for this. This has led the Fever to drop into a 1-4 stretch, but Cunningham is not getting hung up on their setbacks.

Cunningham said, “I feel like we’ve faced it more than most this year, but I think this is going to set us up for something good. I don’t know if it’s this season, I don’t know if it’s next season but I think there’s always something you could be grateful and learn during those hard times.”

Very interesting phrasing there from the former Phoenix guard. A slight nudge that the success could not come this season, but this will only make them stronger for the next. For example, Cunningham has had to play a lot of point guard in Clark’s absence, and so has Kelsey Mitchell. Both thrive off the ball but are being forced to be more malleable. 

Aliyah Boston doesn’t have her regular two-woman game with Clark anymore, so she has had to adjust. That will continue with Sims and Lambert playing at point. Clark made life easier for everyone around her, but now they are forced to step out of their comfort zone and improve at the things they were avoiding. This is a side effect that could help them in the long term through these troubles and build the base of a title-winning team.