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INDIANAPOLIS – Late in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s Fever game vs. Atlanta, Sophie Cunningham pumped her arms up to hype up the crowd.

The Fever, after a few deflating games, were finally up by double-digits late against Atlanta. The crowd was getting into the game, raucous cheering coming with every missed shot from the Dream and every make from the Fever.

Cunningham, someone who frequently shows her emotions out on the court, was reveling in that crowd, continually working to get them involved in the game. Then, to her surprise, Kelsey Mitchell joined in, too. 

Mitchell is usually one of those stoic players. But she helped Cunningham hype up that crowd, getting them to their feet.

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“This is a special group that we have, and so when we can just go out there and have fun and be competitors and feed off of each other, it’s just easy,” Cunningham said. “And when people are smiling — you don’t ever see Kels get like that, it’s just like, ‘Oh, yeah, we’re in it,’ and when other teams see that, it’s game over.”

Friday’s win over Atlanta, a 99-82 drubbing, was something the Fever desperately needed. They had lost their previous two games to teams they should’ve been able to beat, including a 19-point loss to Golden State in Caitlin Clark’s return on Wednesday.

They didn’t have that competitive fire. They let opposing runs crush their spirit. 

It came from a consistent form of inconsistency, with seemingly nonstop injuries and roster changes disallowing them from having a full roster at any given time. 

It was a constant state of change. But coach Stephanie White said that cycle is hopefully ending soon with Clark back on the court and Damiris Dantas’ return from playing in the FIBA AmeriCup tournament.

“We’ve been talking all year about, you know, building consistency,” White said. “This is Game 2 with our whole roster, you know, with everybody in our rotation, for sure. And we still haven’t had a practice with everybody, right? So I think building consistency and habits for us, continuing to work consistency in the rotation.”

Friday night was a good first step.

Cunningham was a star off the bench, knocking down 5-of-9 shots from the field (including four 3-pointers) for 16 points. She was aggressive defensively, grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds and fought for every extra possession possible — as evidenced by her hitting her head hard on the floor when she forced a jump ball against Dream center Brionna Jones.

It wasn’t a serious hit, thankfully for the Fever. She spent an extended amount of time on the ground, then got up, laughing, and remained in the game to jump for the ball.

“I laugh when I’m in pain, just to give you a heads up,” Cunningham said with a smile. “I just tried to get a jump ball. (Jones is) a good-sized post, and she is strong as hell, and I give her all the credit. I wish I had that strength.”

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Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White talks win over Atlanta Dream

The Indiana Fever defeated the Atlanta Dream, 99-82, in a game Friday, July 11, 2025, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

It was a strong game all-around for the Fever. Mitchell finished with 25 points and center Aliyah Boston had 19 points, six rebounds, and a career-high tying eight assists. Caitlin Clark, in her second game back from injury, added 12 points and nine assists.

It was a game emphasized by ball movement, feeding the hot hand and assists. That’s how the Fever want every game to be. 

“I think that our team has enough offensive threats that we should have five to six people in double figures every single night,” Cunningham said. “When we move the ball, when the ball is popping, we’re a really hard team to guard again.”

Now, they just have to focus on maintaining that consistency they’ve been trying so hard to find. The Fever are 10-10, and they’ve been hovering around that .500 mark all season, never getting more than one game above it.

But if Indiana can find a way to continue to play this brand of basketball, continue to find that consistent, assist-heavy style of play, the Fever can become dangerous.

“Every single person you know that’s on our team, coaches, players, everybody, there’s an ego that gets you to this point, right?” White said.  “But to be able to sacrifice that ego and have enough humility to make it about the we over the me, sometimes that’s a learned behavior, and some people have it naturally. And we’ve worked really, really hard, and they’ve worked really hard to be able to, no matter what the circumstance, maintain that and be intentional about that.”

Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@gannett.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter.