Stephanie White and the Indiana Fever are looking to bounce back on Tuesday night when they host the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Fever need a win following their disappointing 93-77 home loss to the Washington Mystics on Sunday.
The Fever struggled against the Mystics throughout the game. At halftime, Coach White made a big change to her rotation in an attempt to breathe some life into her team. She started rookie Raven Johnson in place of veteran guard Lexie Hull.
Johnson ultimately played a career-high 26 minutes, finishing with six points, four rebounds, a steal and two blocks. The former South Carolina star primarily ate into Sophie Cunningham’s minutes in the rotation. Cunningham, the Fever’s leading scorer off the bench this season, was limited to a season-low seven minutes against Washington. She registered no counting stats in the game.
Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
Coach White was asked about her decision to play Johnson over Cunningham ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Lynx. The former WNBA Coach of the Year addressed the situation directly.
“Yeah, it’s game by game,” White told reporters at the 1:09 mark. “In that game in particular, it was Raven’s energy. Her energy on the defensive end of the floor, her ability to get extra possessions by rebounding the basketball, keep possessions alive, and save possessions for us by keeping the ball in play.
“For Sophie, it really helps us when she’s hitting shots. So she didn’t get as much of an opportunity because we felt like Raven was really giving us what we needed on the defensive end.”
Cunningham has been struggling with her shot of late. The 6-foot-1 guard is averaging 8.0 points on 46.5% shooting, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 22.2 minutes per game this season. She’s also knocking down 1.6 triples on a 42.7% clip.
However, over her last five games, the eight-year veteran has averaged 3.8 points on 36.8% from the floor. She’s also shot just 26.7% from three.
White had more praise for Johnson’s impactful performance against the Mystics.
“She also gives us another player that can get downhill, break down a defense, create a rotation, which gives you some other shot opportunities, or at least offensive rebounding opportunities,” White continued.
Cunningham was still the first player off the bench on Tuesday against the Lynx. As of this writing, Johnson has not checked into the game. The Fever have a big lead at the end of the first quarter, 31-16.
The Fever are looking to improve on their 27-15 record with two games left in the regular season, including Tuesday’s contest. They are currently fifth in the standings and are looking to finish in the top four in order to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the WNBA playoffs.
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