Sophie Cunningham’s return to the WNBA for the first time since August was anything but comfortable. Although she shouldered the responsibility of starting the game in Fever’s 3-point loss to the Dallas Wings on Saturday, her individual performance was relatively quiet. Subsequently, it raised doubts about her role on the team. Now, amid this Fever head coach has come clean in this regard, admitting a costly mistake that led to Cunningham’s cold night.

“I thought she was good. Sophie’s solid for us on the defensive end, rebounding, her activity level, or communication,” Stephanie White said in the pre-game conference. “We got to find her more though. She is a knock-down three-point shooter, and I think we missed her a lot. We miss her open looks.”

“She’s getting back into being an elite cutter because she’s also a very good cutter, and she’s a great ball mover. So, we just got to get her more touches on the offensive ends and continue to rely on her to be the communicator and be the leader on the floor,” she added further.

Against the Wings, Indiana had a healthy 77 shots from the field. But the surprising fact is that Cunningham, who logged 26 minutes on the board, only had two during her time on the floor. The 7-year veteran did her bit on the boards, recording 4 rebounds and dishing out 3 assists.

But the Fever didn’t even offer Cunningham a chance to showcase the explicit skill set that she boasts of, as she had just one successful shot (a 22-foot three-point jumper off a Myisha Hines-Allen assist). It sort of limited the Fever’s use of their own resources, as adding more of Cunningham to the mix would have added a new offensive dynamic alongside what Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, and Aliyah Boston provide to the team.

From a generic perspective, there’s no doubt on where Sophie Cunningham stands among the shooters in the Fever roster. She is up alongside Clark and Mitchell, having put it on display last year, scoring over 46% from the field and north of 43% from beyond the arc.

Additionally, as a strong perimeter defender and experienced player, she brings a leadership element to the court. But all of it goes to the rearview if she doesn’t get the ball on the court and the team doesn’t involve her more. In fact, the Fever guard had shed light on this situation in which certain aspects of the game are beyond her reach on the court.

“I could say I want to be a top-three three-point shooter in our league. But I feel like there’s so much out of my control,” Cunningham had said a few days back in her Show Me Something podcast. “Like you can’t control how much you get the ball. There’s too much outside of your control.”

Now, this will be one of Stephanie White’s major challenges this season. It’s needless to say that the Fever coach will have to reorganize her structure in a way that gets Cunningham involved more around their go-to players in Mitchell, Clark, and Boston, as the latter is just too good a player to just play second fiddle consistently on the court.

On an individual level, Sophie Cunningham needs a bit more time to gel with the league’s tempo. She is coming off a season-ending injury after bearing with MCL tear last year. As a result, she played limited minutes in the preseason (40 across 3 games). So, it’s quite certain that the Fever guard would be back at her best on the offensive end, with White hinting at a more involved role on the court.

But for her, the Indiana Fever also needs its veteran guard for a different aspect of their game in their next assignment against the Los Angeles Sparks.

Sophie Cunningham Needs to Step Up Defensively for the Indiana Fever Against the LA Sparks

Before the regular season tip-off, Cunningham had clearly outlined the Indiana Fever’s primary goal for the season. “A team goal that I can share is I know that we want to be the best defensive team,” the Fever guard said on her Show Me Something podcast. But the team’s first strides towards it have been underwhelming.

Competing in the season opener against the Dallas Wings, the Fever conceded 59% in shooting and 52% from beyond the arc. With Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale killing it in the perimeter, the Fever defense looked pretty much in shambles. Consistent struggles with turnovers in the overs and 25 fast-break points in the game just added to their shaky defense.

In fact, Sophie Cunningham herself got overwhelmed by Bueckers during a play in the third quarter while she was trying to protect the rim. The Wings guard literally opened up her defense during a drive towards the basket, leaving her down on the floor as Bueckers successfully converted a two-pointer.

This is something that the Indiana Fever will have to get their heads around as quickly as possible. Although their next opponent, the LA Sparks, hasn’t been solid defensively either, giving up over 60% from the field. But the concern for the Fever is that the Sparks do have pretty formidable offensive players who can up the game’s tempo in both perimeter play and the paint.

With veterans like Nneka Ogwumike and Kelsey Plum, who dropped 27 against the Aces, the Sparks will clearly try to expose the Fever’s defense on May 13. Of course, the team has players like Lexie Hull, Aliyah Boston, and Raven Johnson who can do that dirty work in the paint. But Cunningham, being a veteran and a seasoned perimeter defender, will also have to jam in well to contain the LA Sparks’ offense.

The ESPN analysts have given the Sparks a better than 54% chance of winning on Wednesday. But with their Holy Trinity firing all cylinders and players like Sophie Cunningham contributing more on either end of the court, the game can be in the Fever’s court as well on game day. With just a few hours left in the game, keep dropping your predictions for the game.