Sophie Cunningham’s pregame outfit stole the show before Fever’s first home win originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Indiana Fever finally gave fans something to celebrate Sunday night with their first home win of the 2026 season, defeating the Seattle Storm 89-78 behind another brilliant performance from Caitlin Clark.
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But before Clark started filling up the stat sheet and before Gainbridge Fieldhouse erupted during Indiana’s fast start, Sophie Cunningham had already become one of the biggest talking points of the night.
Cunningham arrived in a pregame outfit that immediately caught fans’ attention online, with social media quickly circulating clips of her tunnel walk ahead of tipoff. The Fever guard has already built a reputation for bringing confidence and personality into every arena, and Sunday night only added to that growing image around the league.
Then she backed it up on the court.
Sophie Cunningham brought energy long before tipoff
The Fever needed a spark entering Sunday after dropping two of their first three games and losing Aliyah Boston to a lower leg injury. Cunningham helped provide that energy almost immediately.
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After the viral pregame moment, she entered the game early and made an instant impact off the bench. Cunningham scored five quick points during Indiana’s huge first-quarter run, then continued attacking throughout the night as Seattle struggled to slow Indiana’s second unit.
Her biggest stretch came during the third quarter while Clark rested. Cunningham drilled a three-pointer, converted an and-one opportunity and helped push Indiana’s lead to 17 as the Fever started pulling away for good.
She finished with 17 points in 25 minutes, matching Kelsey Mitchell for the second-most points on the team behind Clark’s 21-point, 10-assist performance.
MORE: WNBA’s Caitlin Clark controversy becomes impossible for league to ignore
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The Fever suddenly look much deeper
Indiana’s biggest problem at times last season was relying too heavily on Clark to create offense every possession.
Sunday looked different.
Mitchell added 17 points. Cunningham exploded off the bench. The Fever dominated the paint and forced Seattle into early mistakes while building a lead that never fully disappeared.
Clark still made history in the process. According to the AP, Sunday marked her 12th career game with at least 20 points and 10 assists, the most in WNBA history.
But this night also felt important because of everything happening around her. The Fever finally looked balanced. The crowd finally had a reason to celebrate. And Cunningham somehow managed to become one of the stars of the night before the game even started.
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