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By Matthew Couden
Contributing Writer
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The Indiana Fever picked up a huge win at home on Tuesday night, defeating the New York Liberty 106-92, to continue their push towards the WNBA Playoffs.
Kelsey Mitchell led the way with 28 points, and both Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston finished with double-double performances. Sophie Cunningham came off the bench to contribute 12 points after connecting on four 3-pointers.
Ahead of the game, Fever coach Stephanie White gave a fiery two-minute speech to reporters about the outside noise surrounding the team and the league, then left the room without answering questions.
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After the Fever's win Tuesday night, Cunningham was asked about her head coach's statement, and she brought up all the "outside noise" following recent games and controversies.
"I think there's just been a lot of outside noise, but our locker room is good, and that's what it is to be an Indiana Fever, on the staff, as a player, that you know when you come here that's gonna be one of the things that's gonna try to distract you, but our locker room in there, it's tight and we have each others backs," Cunningham said.
More news: Sophie Cunningham Gets Honest About DiJonai Carrington’s Hard Foul
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Cunningham also brought up the Chicago Sky's DiJonai Carrington, who was ejected for a hard foul on her in the Fever's win at Chicago this weekend. In her pregame speech before Tuesday's win, White indicated she hadn't seen Carrington's foul in "real time" during the Sky game, which resulted in her making postgame remarks that seemed to defend Carrington's style of play.
"Coach loves us. She didn't see the clip. At the end of the day, she didn't see the clip, and you know what, DiJonai is a great player. She's a great defender. [Stephanie White] coached her for I don't know how many years up in Connecticut, so give her her flowers. She didn't see it. Me and Steph are great. Steph is great with all of us, and so it's really the outside noise that's trying to distract us, but we're good," Cunningham said.
In the first quarter of the Fever-Sky game, Carrington received a Flagrant 2 foul and ejection for a play in which she chased down Cunningham on a fast-break layup, then brought her arm down across Cunningham's face and neck.
Cunningham popped up after hitting the hardwood to go after Carrington and had words with her before they were separated.
Carrington posted the message "WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever" on Threads not long after her ejection. She then addressed that comment in an X message earlier this week, indicating it wasn't related to the "assessment of the foul" she committed on Cunningham.
When asked if she felt there was more outside noise after that Sky game and the foul, Cunningham said, "I really don't care anymore."
However, one has to believe that Cunningham could talk more at length about the topic on her podcast when she records the next episode, or in her potential tell-all book following backlash over her comments about transgender athletes.
In her postgame remarks, Cunningham maintained that the main focus is on the "big picture," with the Fever playing well and winning games, including Tuesday night's victory over the Liberty. That win improved Indiana to 20-12 and kept them right on the heels of the 23-11 Las Vegas Aces for the third spot in the WNBA standings.
More news: Stephanie White Rips Referees Over Caitlin Clark Technical in Fever Win
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