The Indiana Fever are less than an hour away from the biggest game of their 2025 season, when they face the Las Vegas Aces at home on Friday evening.
It must be said that every one of the Fever’s five playoff games has been the most important of their season to this point, which will continue to be the case for as long as they’re still playing games. However, there’s no debating that Game 3 is absolutely pivotal in any best-of-five series, particularly those where teams are split 1-1 after the first two contests.
Indiana has had a great track record against Las Vegas while playing at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Arena this season. They beat the Aces by a score of 81-54 on their home court on July 3 and beat them 80-70 in Indianapolis 21 days later.
Yet, the Fever’s roster looks much different than back in July. While Caitlin Clark didn’t play in either of those two home games because of two separate groin injuries, Fever standout guard Sophie Cunningham was active in both, as it came before she tore her MCL in August.
Jun 22, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Las Vegas Aces at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images | Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images
Sophie Cunningham Speaks on ‘Pressure’ Aces Will Face in Game 3
Cunningham previewed this upcoming game against the Aces during a September 26 episode of her Show Me Something podcast and sent a strong message.
“They’re coming into our house Friday, and it’s about to be good. Our team is feeling good, so I’m excited,” Cunningham said. Her co-host, West Wilson, then noted how crucial winning Game 1 on the road was for the Fever, and then asked Cunningham for any key takeaways for this upcoming contest.
“Overall, what made it so good the first game, is our attention to detail and our sense of urgency with the ball, and to get in our offense and to get in our defense… was from the jump, and it punched them in the mouth early,” Cunningham said.
“I think that everyone is going to be more aggressive [in Game 3], and it’s going to be fun. Like, I know that Gainbridge is about to be freakin’ loud, and packed, and it is so fun and so hard to play here,” she continued.
“So all the pressure’s on them.”
.@sophaller is locked in for Game 3 pic.twitter.com/bJfmlyn6mI
— Show Me Something (@ShowMe_Pod) September 26, 2025
It will be fascinating to see how the Aces respond to this pressure and to a hostile crowd on Friday. Given their championship pedigree, it’s hard to imagine they’ll be too phased. An answer to this will be arriving soon.
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