Latest news with #double-double
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Caitlin Clark Shares One-Word Reaction to Sophie Cunningham
Caitlin Clark Shares One-Word Reaction to Sophie Cunningham originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Sophie Cunningham did what she had asked for. No buzzer-beater like Caitlin Clark, no record-breaking moment, but she still owned the night. Advertisement On Friday, the Indiana Fever blew past the Atlanta Dream 99-82, and while Clark had a solid outing, all eyes locked onto Cunningham. Coming off the bench, the 28-year-old guard dropped 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, her first double-double in a Fever jersey. It wasn't just the stats that caught attention. It was the way she did it. Cunningham played with an edge, the kind that punches the air after diving for a loose ball and dares you to match her energy. 'I bring the energy, I bring the feistiness. I'm a little bit sassy,' Cunningham said in a video the team shared on X after the game. Clark saw the clip and posted it on her Instagram story with one word: 'Dawg.' That's it. No explanation needed. Advertisement Fans knew exactly what she meant. Cunningham has fast become the soul of this Fever team. Back in June, she had Clark's back during a heated moment with the Sun and got ejected for it. The league fined her, but Fever fans called her a hero. Since then, she's made it clear that she's not here to be just another name on the roster. 'This is a team that I have never felt like this in the W,' Cunningham said. 'We hold each other up.' Indiana Fever Sophie Cunningham hugs Indiana Fever Caitlin Clark (22) on Saturday, May 3, 2025, during a preseason game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Indiana Fever defeated the Washington Mystics in overtime, 79-74.© Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Clark echoed that after Friday's win. 'She brings that energy every single day,' she said. 'Her energy is unmatched.' The Fever still have work to do, but as the playoffs inch closer, they're leaning on more than just talent. They're leaning on grit. And Sophie Cunningham? She's got plenty of it. Advertisement Related: Paolo Banchero Responds To Insane Caitlin Clark Criticism This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
WNBA Crowns Angel Reese After Her Historic Game
WNBA Crowns Angel Reese After Her Historic Game originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Angel Reese, the star forward in her second WNBA season with the Chicago Sky, struggled with her shooting last season. But lately, she has shown some increased marksmanship, which has made her a significantly better player. Advertisement On Saturday, she guided the Sky to their fourth victory in their last seven games. They defeated the Minnesota Lynx, 87-81, as Reese shot 8-of-14 from the field and scored 19 points, to go along with 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals. That performance made her only the second player in WNBA history to achieve at least 40 double-doubles in her first two seasons. The other to do so is veteran Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles. As a rookie in 2024, Reese shot 39.1% from the field and averaged 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds a game. So far this year, she has improved her shooting accuracy to 43.4%, and her free throw accuracy has increased from 73.6% last season to 78.6% this season. Advertisement She was recently named an All-Star for the second year in a row, and she will be on Napheesa Collier's squad, which will take on Caitlin Clark's squad next weekend at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Chicago Sky player Angel Reese reacts during the 2024 WNBA All-Star J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Reese and Clark have a budding rivalry that started in 2023 when Reese's LSU Tigers defeated Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes for the women's NCAA championship. Clark got her revenge a year later in the Elite Eight round of the tournament. Chicago is now 7-13 and will host Minnesota again on Monday and the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday before the All-Star game takes place. Related: Former Indiana Fever Star Spotted at WNBA Game After Being Released This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
Fox News
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Fever's Sophie Cunningham admits to being 'feisty, sassy' in her fight to protect Caitlin Clark
Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham opened up about her personality in a team video released after she posted her first double-double of the season Friday. After the Fever's 99-82 win over the Atlanta Dream, in which Cunningham had 16 points and 10 rebounds, the team published a video feature on social media with Cunningham speaking candidly about who she is. "I bring the energy. I bring the feistiness. I'm a little bit sassy," Cunningham said. "I'm just the ultimate competitor. I will outwork anyone, and I think that's something I can hang my hat on and my teammates can always expect from me." Cunningham's admission comes amid her rise to stardom after she started a fight to defend teammate Caitlin Clark. In a June 17 game against the Connecticut Sun, Cunningham committed a hard foul on Connecticut Sun guard Jacy Sheldon. Cunningham and Sheldon's heated exchange turned into a shoving match before players from both teams intervened to break it up. Cunningham, Sheldon and Sun guard Lindsay Allen were ejected from the game with about 40 seconds left before the Fever took home the victory. The hard foul came after Sheldon poked Clark in the eye in the third quarter. Sun guard Marina Mabrey then shoved Clark to the floor during a game that got chippy. As the Fever put away the Sun, 88-71, Cunningham was congratulated for stepping up as the team's enforcer. Cunningham saw a surge in popularity after the game. Her Instagram and TikTok accounts each surged past 1 million followers. With Cunningham earning the nickname "the enforcer" for the Fever, fans counting on her to protect Caitlin Clark can rest easy knowing she is a black belt in the Korean martial art of taekwondo. She earned the black belt at the age of 6. Her father Jim played football at the University of Missouri, and she followed in her dad's footsteps on the football field. A 2014 article by the Columbia Missourian reported Cunningham was the first female in history to score points for the team when she kicked two of four extra points in place of the team's regular kicker, who had torn an ACL. Cunningham even handled kickoff duties. "I was so nervous," Cunningham told the outlet. "I mean, I've never played football before in all my life. Right when I got the ball (on the opening kickoff), I couldn't hear anything. I just put the ball down and kicked it." Cunningham comes from a family of farmers and credits that upbringing for the person she is today, according to a five-part feature series by the University of Missouri. "So much of our success goes back to what we learned here," Cunningham said of working on the farm. "We loved coming out to the farm to help. We found out how to work hard and work together. It made us farm strong." Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sky dominate glass in upset win over Lynx, Angel Reese's double-double tear continues
The Chicago Sky handed out Angel Reese NBA 2K26 T-shirts Saturday at Wintrust Arena, three days after Reese was named a cover athlete for the basketball video game. Fittingly, the two-time All-Star forward continued her video-game-like double-double streak for the Sky (7-13), this time in a 87-81 upset win over the WNBA's top team, the Minnesota Lynx (18-4). Advertisement The six-point victory marked the first time this season Chicago has beaten a team with a .500 record or better. The Sky were previously 0-10 in those games. Veteran guard Ariel Atkins led Chicago with a game-high 27 points on 12-of-21 shooting. But the Sky's domination on the glass sealed the deal. Reese and fellow big Kamilla Cardoso spearheaded that effort, combining for 26 rebounds — the Lynx had 28 rebounds total. Reese now has eight double-doubles in a row, and 14 total, and Cardoso notched her second of the season. "Somebody said we wasn't the best young core in the league," Reese told the ABC broadcast in a postgame interview, when asked about Cardoso. Advertisement "I think we're the best young core in the league, for sure. Hands down." The Sky led from start to finish Saturday, except Minnesota, at one point down by as many as 15 points in the third quarter, pulled within two points of Chicago in the final frame. Reese and Cardoso — who also scored 19 and 17 points, respectively — used their size and tenacity to hold off the comeback-hungry Lynx. With under a minute to go, Reese drew a loose ball foul on WNBA MVP candidate Napheesa Collier, who was trying to box out the Sky frontcourt star. That awarded Chicago another offensive possession, which resulted in a floater from guard Rachel Banham. Advertisement That bucket gave the Sky a two-possession lead. On the other end, Cardoso blocked a 3-point-shooting Courtney Williams. Cardoso came down with the rebound, was fouled and hit 1-of-2 free throws to make it 87-81. A couple Lynx desperation misses, one final Reese board and the Sky emerged victorious. Collier finished with 26 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. She also ended her drought beyond the arc, finally sinking a 3 in the fourth quarter after missing her last 16 attempts from long range. But both Courtney Williams and Kayla McBride shot below 40% from the field. The Lynx have played eight games in the last two weeks. They've dropped two of their last three contests after starting the season 17-2. Two of Minnesota's next three games are against Chicago, so head coach Cheryl Reeve's team won't have to wait long for opportunities to avenge Saturday's defeat. Advertisement "Everybody came alive, from top to bottom," Reese said of the Sky's triumph. "Everybody fought. Everybody came in and did their job, came in off the bench with a lot of energy. "This is just a great win in front of our home crowd."
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sophie Cunningham Discovers What She's Been Missing After Seven Years in the WNBA — and It's With the Fever
Sophie Cunningham Discovers What She's Been Missing After Seven Years in the WNBA — and It's With the Fever originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Sophie Cunningham stepped it up in a major way for the Indiana Fever on Friday night. In fact, her performance in Indiana's 99-82 victory over the Atlanta Dream may have very well been the 28-year-old's best outing in a Fever uniform. Advertisement Cunningham came off the bench on Friday to drop a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double. This was the 6-foot-1 guard's highest scoring tally since joining the Fever in the offseason. For good measure, Cunningham also added an assist, a block and four triples to round out her incredible night. Cunningham spoke to reporters after the game, and one of the topics she discussed was the team's chemistry. The veteran guard spoke truthfully about how much the players get along with each other on and off the court. "I really do think this is a really unique and special team," Cunningham said. "In the locker room, we really do love each other. We love spending time together. "Our practices, I'm not going to lie, are long. And sometimes we have to hold hands and be like, hey, we're going to get through it.' Advertisement Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham before a game between the Indiana Fever and the Atlanta Dream.© Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Cunningham went on to say that she found something special with this team, which is unlike anything she's ever experienced throughout her WNBA career. "This is a team that I have never felt like this in the W. I've been in it for seven years," she continued. "... And so 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. … And so we're at our best when we're having fun." Cunningham and Co. clearly had fun in this one, and the scoreline reflects just that. They will want to carry this momentum when they return to action on Sunday in a much-anticipated matchup against Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings. Advertisement Related: Sophie Cunningham's Sizzling Outfit Steals the Spotlight at Fever-Dream Game Related: Caitlin Clark Flexes Sophie Cunningham, Indiana Fever's Win Without Saying Anything Related: Caitlin Clark Turns Heads With Outfit for Fever-Dream This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
