Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham’s 30th birthday ended with her squad picking up a hard-fought 95-91 OT win over the Atlanta Dream.
The Fever overcame an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to tie the game and then wrap up the win in OT.
The Fever roster was likely going to celebrate this hard-fought win against a potential Playoff rival anyway, but they had more reason to let their hair down because it was Cunningham’s birthday.
Fever locker room celebrates Sophie Cunningham on her 30th birthday
The Fever locker room, with players like Caitlin Clark, sang happy birthday to Cunningham after the game while giving her a cupcake with a lit candle that read ’30’.
Cunningham played 33 minutes in the birthday win, scoring three points and grabbing seven rebounds, ending the game with a +8 plus/minus.
The now 30-year-old is averaging 8.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 23.2 minutes per game this season.
Cunningham has generated a lot of off-court attention after making her stance on trans athletes in the WNBA clear, prompting almost a month-long debate that now has former NBA players declaring for the WNBA Draft to prove a point.
Sophie Cunningham celebrated with fans the night before
This was the second night of a back-to-back for the Fever, so Cunningham also had to play basketball on her birthday eve. However, Cunningham was seen celebrating without any of her teammates.
Cunningham was spotted singing with fans at Clayton’s Country Bar in downtown Indianapolis after Indiana’s win over the Dallas Wings on Saturday.
Given the rumored tensions that have been in the Fever locker room since Cunningham went public with her anti-trans athletes stance, this was a sign that the team is keeping it professional and moving on with their season.
The OT win over the Dream has bolstered the Fever’s record to 23-12 on the season, giving the franchise a legitimate reason to believe they could end the season with the WNBA title.
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