‘Didn’t Even Touch A’ja (Wilson)’ — Sophie Cunningham Exposes Fever’s ‘Unacceptable’ Performance vs. Aces

The Indiana Fever’s 2026 season is over. The Las Vegas Aces beat them 2-1 in the first-round series, and the Fever are out of the playoffs. Now Sophie Cunningham has said what she really thinks about how it all went down.

Sophie Cunningham’s latest comments regarding how the Indiana Fever performed in the playoffs

On the recent episode of the “No Hesitation” podcast, Cunningham looked back at the series and did not hold back. She called the team’s Game 1 performance unacceptable, and she made it clear the group knew it.

“We had a horrible first game. We came out very flat-footed, not aggressive, gave too much space to the guards; didn’t even touch A’ja [Wilson], which is just unacceptable, and so we started low,” Cunningham said on the podcast.

The Fever lost Game 1, 102-85, and it was never really close. They were fine early, going down 27-23 after the first quarter. Then the second quarter fell apart. The Aces outscored them 35-24, and Las Vegas pulled away from there.

The third quarter was just as bad, with the Fever losing it 24-18. By the end of that period, they were down 86-65, which was a 21-point hole. Indiana did win the fourth quarter 20-16, but by then the game was long gone. Caitlin Clark scored 15 points, Aliyah Boston had 18 points, and Cunningham added 13 points.

However, Cunningham also added during the podcast that the team looked much more like itself in Games 2 and 3. She felt that was when they played as a real unit.

“Second game, I think we really brought the energy; we brought the dog, our backs were against the wall. And you know, this might sound crazy, but I think the second game and third game, we finally played as a unit because it didn’t matter who got the credit. We just had to get the dub. Like, it was fun to finally just kind of play free, like we just it don’t matter who succeeds or who gets the credit. Like, we just need to get the win,” Cunningham added on the podcast.

The Fever won Game 2 (99-89) to level the series. Clark had a huge night with 27 points, 15 assists, and seven rebounds. She became the first player in WNBA history with a points-assists double-double in the first half of a playoff game.

She was also the first to put up at least 25 points and 15 assists in a postseason game. Boston added 22 points, four rebounds, and five assists, and Kelsey Mitchell scored 26 points. Cunningham scored four points.

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Game 3 was a tough one to lose. The Fever came out strong and tied it 31-31 after the first quarter, with Clark scoring 11 of her points early. After that, the offense dried up. The team shot just 38.5% from the field and 28.1% from three.

Las Vegas led 54-48 at halftime, but Indiana stayed within striking distance and twice pulled within two in the fourth before the Aces closed out a 94-83 win.

A’ja Wilson finished with 36 points and 10 rebounds. Chelsea Gray added 23 points. For Indiana, Mitchell led the way with 23 points. Clark finished with 18 points, four assists, two rebounds, two steals, and four blocks. Boston had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Cunningham scored five points off the bench in 24 minutes.

Cunningham’s comments underline the biggest difference between the three games. Indiana looked overwhelmed in Game 1, responded with a united effort in Game 2, but could not sustain that level in Game 3, when the season was on the line.