Do-or-die stretch presents short-handed Fever with toughest challenge yet

An already disappointing season got even worse for the Indiana Fever. It was announced Tuesday that Sophie Cunningham will miss the remainder of the season due to a torn right MCL sustained in Sunday's game against the Connecticut Sun. She was injured early in the game on a play underneath the basket after a collision with Connecticut's Bria Hartley. The Fever are already thin after losing both Aari McDonald (broken foot) and Sydney Colson (torn ACL) just in the last two weeks and Caitlin Clark's injury status is still very much unknown.

Cunningham was playing her best basketball prior to her injury and has contributed heavily to the Fever's lineup. She was shooting 50.7% from 3-point range in her last 16 games. Cunningham not only added to the stat sheet for the Fever, but she also brought energy and a much needed spark. Her presence on the court will most definitely be missed, especially during a critical part of the season when every game counts. The Fever now find themselves completely depleted at the guard position and much of the workload will fall on Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull, the only two remaining healthy guards from the opening day roster, and Odyssey Sims, who played a big role in the Fever’s comeback against the Sun.

Fever must now prepare for grueling remaining schedule

Just when it appeared things couldn't get any worse for the Fever you don't have to look very far to see that it can—just look at their upcoming schedule. As they sit in the thick of a very tight playoff race. they now must face the league's toughest remaining schedule.

According to a model produced by Tankathon, the Fever have the most difficult path remaining. In fact, in their final nine games all of their opponents have a winning percentage of .593. They still have to play the league leader Minnesota Lynx for two games, the Phoenix Mercury, Golden State Valkyries, and Los Angeles Sparks on a crucial west coast swing—something the Fever haven't fared well with just a few weeks ago. The Fever don't play again until Friday night, which gives them a much needed break having not played a game since Sunday.

They currently hold the sixth spot in the standings where the top eight teams gain rights to the postseason. With all of the injuries the Fever had to bring on some help. They'll still be stretched thin the rest of they way but signed Odyssey Sims to a second 7-day hardship contract as well as bringing on Shey Peddy, a well experienced veteran guard, on a 7-day contract after the Cunningham injury news broke. Adversity isn't anything new for the Fever, in fact, the team has learned to embrace it by meeting any new challenge head on and oftentimes they've been successful in doing so.

They have very little room for error due to the playoff race being so tight. The second place Atlanta Dream and 10th-place Washington Mystics are only separated by six games.

Being faced with the toughest remaining schedule will certainly test the roster head coach Stephanie White has. She's based this season around 'resiliency,' especially after their comeback win Sunday after trailing by as many as 21points. Cunningham being out the rest of the season is certainly a heart breaker for a team that was doing everything it could to keep things together, but they still have very solid players in Natasha Howard, Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston, and Lexie Hull to lean on.

The Fever return to game action Friday night against the Minnesota Lynx at Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 7:30.