**Reporter:** Before I do a question about the game, I presume both of you have seen what your head coach said before the game now, yeah? What a minute, okay. What did you think about the things she had to say, and why do you think she decided now is the time to do that? (00:00:00)

**Sophie Cunningham:** You know, I think there is just been a lot of outside noise, but our locker room is good and that is what it is to be an Indiana Fever. On the staff, as a player, you know when you come here that is going to be one of the things that is going to try to distract you. But our locker room in there, it is tight and we have each other's backs. Coach loves us, she is going to do... She didn't see the clip. At the end of the day, she didn't see the clip. And you know what, DJ, she is a hell of a player, she is a great defender, and so she coached her for I don't know how many years up in Connecticut. So give her her flowers, and she didn't see it, and that is okay. Me and Steph are great. Steph is great with all of us, and so it is really the outside noise that is trying to distract us, but we are good. (00:00:13)

**Reporter:** Just because you brought up the player from last game, did you feel like there was more outside noise after that game? (00:00:49)

**Sophie Cunningham:** I really don't care. I really don't care anymore. I am trying to keep the main thing the main thing. I think we played an excellent game today against the Fever or shoot, against the Liberty. We played ourselves, Sophie. We won. We shared the ball, I think our defense was really good. I think the third quarter we kind of were a little slumpy, but we got it back and that is what's important. You know, we are trying to focus on the big picture here and I think we really needed this win, and that is our focus, every day trying to get better. Tonight we took care of business. (00:00:51)

**Reporter:** Yeah, Caitlin, just to follow up, I know Sophie just spoke to Tony's question, but what was your kind of reaction to hearing what Steph said and just her message overall about the divisiveness and the league? (00:01:22)

**Caitlin Clark:** Yeah, I talked to Steph earlier in the day too, and you know, I think we forget a lot of times like we are human and she has feelings. There are moments that are really hard and sometimes that is just the job you sign up for, but at the same time, it is okay to feel those emotions. I just told her like I have been through the same thing, like there has been days where I have been really upset and you can have the thickest skin in the world, but sometimes it does get to you. You know, I think our world is just like, we love to hate, we love to divide, like that is all we want to do, like nobody wants to see each other succeed. I think that is a really painful thing for myself to watch. I feel like we need to do a better job at uplifting each other, and I can assure you there was no way we were losing this game tonight. I told her that before the game, like there was no way we were losing this game for her. You know, it is tough, like that is my head coach. I hated that our fans booed her before the game, that made me a little sick, to be honest. You can disagree and this and that, and I get it, it is professional sports, people are going to boo, but at the end of the day, that is our head coach and we are going to ride for her and we are always going to have her back, and that is never going to tear our locker room apart. So, I just love her and I feel for her because I know it can be a lot at times, and she does a great job a lot of times blocking it out, but there are other moments where it can get under your skin and that is just being human, and that is just life. Like, there are tough days and there are tough moments, but just proud of our group. Like, I think we showed what we are all about tonight. Like, we came out, we had fun, we shared the ball, and you know, we played with joy and a smile on our face. To be honest, we really just did it for her and we did it for each other and the girls in our locker room. (00:01:37)

**Reporter:** I'll do a basketball question for you guys. (00:03:19)

**Caitlin Clark:** That's great, that's new. (00:03:23)

**Reporter:** Caitlin, I know we've talked about Kelsey kind of during this stretch she's in, but she had a career year last year, she comes back even better this year. I guess how impressive and important has she been for you guys, especially during this kind of stretch you're in? (00:03:24)

**Caitlin Clark:** Yeah, I mean she just doesn't miss. It's pretty incredible. Like she's the best scorer in the league, hands down, it's not even close. Like she just makes the game of basketball really pretty and really pure, and it's fun to like be in the backcourt with her. Like swear I just swing the rock and it's like an automatic assist. It's fun just like getting to watch her do her thing, and it's fun to see like the joy and the passion that she has for the game. Like she truly loves the game, she loves her teammates, she loves getting to compete and work every single day. Like she truly just puts her head down and goes. Like there's no extracurricular with her, like it's basketball. And you know she's going to have her teammates' back, and it's just been fun to obviously watch her evolution from when I first got here. Obviously a lot of these moments are for her, like they're special. Like she's been through the worst of times with this organization. So I'm just really happy she's playing her best basketball right now, and she just continues to top the last night and keeps it moving forward, which really just happy for her. (00:03:37)

**Reporter:** Sophie, you mentioned being a little bit slumpy in the third quarter, but Liberty only got within nine, and you guys have had games where you've built up big leads and then kind of lost them entirely. So what did it mean to be able to stop that Liberty run at a nine-point deficit and then be able to build it back up again? (00:04:35)

**Sophie Cunningham:** Yeah, I think they went on, and I could be totally wrong on this, a 14-2 run. When we build that really good lead in the first half, we got to put the pedal to the metal. We got to make a statement coming out of that third quarter, and so I think that's just an area of growth. We all know it, and we got to try to lock in and try to find a way to be successful of trying to punch first in the third quarter. But overall, I think we had a really solid game, and like what C said, we really did play with just joy, and with everything going on, that's kind of been hard to do. Tonight was the night that we all just like clicked and we had fun, and we did it for Steph and we did it for everyone in the locker room. And so that third quarter almost got away from us, but we dialed it in and we went on a run, and that's what it's all about. (00:04:52)

**Reporter:** For Caitlin, tonight's second quarter with that big lead was very similar to the 20-point lead you built against Las Vegas, and it seemed watching those two stretches that's about as best as well as you guys can play for a stretch. How do you maintain that for the whole game? (00:05:27)

**Caitlin Clark:** Yeah, I mean the law of averages are going to happen. Like we were 11 for 14 from three in the first half, maybe 11 for 13, and we still finished shooting it really well from the three-point line. But, you know, I think at times we have to do a little bit better job of understanding sequence of the game. I think when we came out in the third quarter, it was like miss shot, tough shot, turnover, then we kept fouling them and they were scoring, then we had to have Steph use a timeout. So I think as a point guard, like just understanding sequence of the game a little bit better, and you want to like get us into stuff, get us into something we really know is going to work, get us a quick bucket. But I think for us, like it never felt like we were backpedaling, even though they did go on their run. It never felt like we were, you know, kind of on our heels. Like, you know, we knew they were going to go on a run, and we knew we were going to come back and respond. I didn't feel like we were on our heels, and I think in the Vegas game we were on our heels a little bit, especially in the third quarter. Like we still obviously played well offensively in the third quarter tonight, and that was not the case versus Vegas. (00:05:55)

**Reporter:** Caitlin, you guys only have one game with over 13 turnovers in the last six games. You only had 11. What do you feel like has gotten better in that department for you guys in terms of taking care of the ball and connectivity? (00:06:53)

**Caitlin Clark:** Yeah, our goal is 12 every night. Like I'm pretty sure our record is basically undefeated when we have 12 or less turnovers, so that's a big stat for us. You know, and this isn't a team that necessarily is going to turn you over, that's not really just what they do, so you really need to limit them because those are just easy buckets for them. But I think in return, like we did a really good job of scoring off of their turnovers. I think we had what, like 20 points off of their turnovers or something like that. So, you know, that's a big focus point, probably a top three key to win every single time we're going into a game is we want to be 12 or less. (00:07:02)

**Reporter:** Steph, I do have a question about the game, but first, is there a reason you felt today was the right time to make the statement that you did before the game? (00:07:42)

**Stephanie White:** Yeah, I mean, you know, it's... I've made a statement before about the noise that surrounds our league, and you know, we're being hijacked for all the wrong reasons. So, you know, I sat with this... Tony, you got to stop doing that. And, you know, I just... I felt called today to speak. (00:08:15)

**Reporter:** Was there a specific event or anything that you felt pushed you to do that in this instance? (00:08:16)

**Stephanie White:** I mean, of course, like the response from Saturday. It's why, you know, it's part of why... People presume to know who I am and have no idea. But also because these women are playing incredible basketball and they deserve to be celebrated for that, you know? And I give them a ton of credit. Like winners focus on winning, and that's what they're doing, you know? They're winners in that locker room. They pull for each other. You guys are here a lot, you see, like it's good vibes. It's everybody else that wants to divide us, our team and our league. And, you know, as somebody who's been around for a long, long time in this league, I'm tired of it. And, you know, I know that we as teams stand united in how we feel about this, and we've just got to continue to stay the course. (00:08:20)

**Reporter:** Both Caitlin and Sophie just told us they wanted to win for you tonight. What did you think of the third quarter response to push ahead and win for you from your players? (00:09:09)

**Stephanie White:** I'm just proud of them, man. I mean, you know, again, like we've got great humans in that locker room, we got great competitors in that locker room. You know, we've got mature women in that locker room who know what it is, and you know, I'm thankful to them. You know, those of you who have been around, you know, a year ago and this year, it's like we were fighting different demons, fighting different battles. But the same character, you know, adversity reveals your character, and this is a really special group, a really united group, and a group that I'm proud to go to work with every day. (00:09:16)

**Reporter:** Kind of off that note, Steph, on the topic of like outside narratives trying to dictate or divide, what is the story you want your group or your players as a team or even just the league to... What is a story that people should know or should understand from what the WNBA is about? (00:09:58)

**Stephanie White:** Well, first and foremost, basketball. I mean, at the end of the day, like our team is playing great basketball. You know, our league is the best in the world, the best athletes in the world, they should be celebrated. It's... You know, we as women in particular continue to fight. We continue to try to represent the right things. And, you know, I think we're... As women and as a women's league, sometimes... Sometimes we're an easy target. Sometimes we're an easy target. And, you know, it's unfortunate, but we've got hundreds of years of precedent of a lot of different things that are happening, you know, in our world and in our country. And we just want to try to, you know, keep the main thing the main thing. And I think it's important that we understand that we need to focus on this group and how they're playing basketball right now, because they've been playing incredible basketball. And so, I'd like to stop talking about the other shit. (00:10:15)

**Reporter:** You've won, I think, seven out of nine, probably should be eight out of nine. Do you feel like your team is coalescing at the right time, that they're playing the kind of basketball that can win a championship? (00:11:36)

**Stephanie White:** I do. You know, I do. It's about continuing to get better, it's about continuing to grow. You know, we knew we wanted to come out of All-Star break with some momentum and we did that. And we want to go into World Cup break with some momentum. You know, it's... We are not a finished product. We want to be playing our best basketball heading into the playoffs. But everybody in this playoff hunt is one game in or one game out, so we understand the urgency of every game, of every possession, of every situation. And, you know, our team has gotten better, our team has gotten better, and it's a credit to every woman in that locker room. (00:11:48)

**Reporter:** I know we've talked a lot about Kelsey kind of during the stretch you guys are on, but kind of big picture, I mean, she was All-W last season and comes back even better this season. How impressive is that to see her continuing to improve at this stage? (00:12:28)

**Stephanie White:** I mean, I'm proud of her, but I'm not surprised. She loves to hoop, man. She loves to play. And I know I say this often, but I've been watching Kelsey Mitchell for a long time, and the way that she worked when she was a freshman in college is the way that she works pregame or pre-practice or post-practice every day now. She wants to perfect her craft. You know, we all know that chasing perfection you probably never attain, but she keeps trying, man. And she is an incredible athlete, one of the best go-to scorers in this league, in this league's history. And she continues to grow and she continues to get better and she continues to step up, and I'm really proud of her. (00:12:40)

**Reporter:** Yeah, just Misha has been back in the rotation these past couple games. How did KK going into the starting lineup kind of change... How do you need her for depth, and just what do you like about Misha's game this past... (00:13:21)

**Stephanie White:** Yeah, I mean, KK in the starting lineup, you know, allows us to bring Mo in at the five and play Mai at the four. It allows us a little bit more fluid rotation. You know, I think Mai is somebody who can play multiple positions for us, the four and the five, but it's allowed us to, I think, free up some minutes for her. You know, we still want to be mindful of our substitution patterns, but our combinations of Mo and Mai together have been really good, of Mai and KK, and Mo and KK together have been really good, and KK as well. So we just wanted to try to shore that up a little bit. (00:13:33)

Sophie Cunningham, Caitlin Clark & Head Coach Stephanie White | Postgame Media vs. New York