Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham addressed her struggles on offense and how she can still help the team.
On the latest episode of Cunningham’s “No Hesitation” podcast with Drew Hanlen, the Fever star didn’t shy away from her recent shooting woes.
The 13th overall pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft said her value to the team goes far beyond what the box score shows.
“I will say that I think my mental side of things, I’ve worked really hard on that,” Cunningham said. “Like if I only get two shot attempts, yeah, maybe I put pressure on those. If I miss those and I kind of get frustrated.
“But I try to really make sure that I am impacting on rebounding or making sure my defense or my talking. I really try to control what I can control because I know that as a role player, you do impact.
“That is why I’m on this team is because I am an energy player. I am a leader. They need my voice out there on the offensive and defensive end. And so I know my role and I play that role very, very well.”
Cunningham averaged 7.9 points on 46.0% shooting (41.9% from three) in 43 regular-season games. However, in the Fever’s final five-game stretch, her numbers dropped to 3.4 points per game on 30% from the field and 23.5% from three.
The 6-foot-1 guard also acknowledged the need to make the most of her minutes.
“I hang my hat on that type of stuff when it comes to maybe not hitting that 20-minute mark or that close to 20-minute mark,” Cunningham continued. “Sometimes I think it’s just hard to maybe get in rhythm.
“So maybe that’s an area where I can get better of like, hey, you have X amount of minutes, make sure you get a deflection. You get two boards.
“Cause if I can focus on everything outside of just knocking down my shots, then it’s easier for me to just go out there and have fun.”
Cunningham will do everything in her power to help the Fever in their first-round playoff matchup against the defending champions, the Las Vegas Aces. Game 1 is on Sunday, with tipoff from Michelob ULTRA Arena scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET.
