Sophie Cunningham’s sensational cheetah-print look fails to dim Fever’s devastating loss as Aces advance in playoff battle

Sophie Cunningham arrived at Michelob ULTRA Arena on Sunday in a long cheetah-print coat and matching shorts, dressed for a playoff opener. The Las Vegas Aces spoiled it fast. They beat the Indiana Fever 102-85 in Game 1 of the first-round series, and A'ja Wilson did most of the damage.A first-quarter flagrant foul on Aces star Chelsea Gray added to the sting, and the 6-foot-1 guard now faces league discipline. Indiana must win Game 2 on Tuesday at home to keep its season alive.Why Sophie Cunningham's cheetah coat could not lift the Fever in Game 1Sophie Cunningham has turned the pregame walk into a weekly show for Indiana this season, and Game 1 was no exception. The coat came only days after a sweater that read "Kick Rocks" before the Fever faced the Minnesota Lynx in the second-last game of the regular season.The fashion was the easy part. The Fever had to solve the defending champions on the road, in a best-of-three series, and the Aces gave them no room. Las Vegas has won three of the last four WNBA titles. It finished 31-13 and came up two games short of the top seed. Indiana arrived as the No. 6 seed, hoping a healthier roster would close the gap. Coach Stephanie White had said Aliyah Boston would play after a leg injury, and she did.Wilson made sure the night belonged to Las Vegas. The reigning MVP scored 38 points on 15-of-19 shooting to tie a playoff career high. Wilson also pulled down 16 rebounds, blocked four shots and hit two threes in 35 minutes. Few teams have an answer for that kind of game.Indiana got real work from its stars, just not enough of it. Boston led the team with 18 points and eight rebounds. Caitlin Clark finished with 15 points and 10 assists. Kelsey Mitchell, who set a single-season scoring record this year, had a rough shooting night at 4-of-16 for 12 points.The Fever guard gave the bench a lift with 13 points and three triples on six tries.Sophie Cunningham faces a $500 fine after the Chelsea Gray foulIn the first quarter, Cunningham contested a Gray jumper and, in the officials' view, violated Gray's landing space. The referees first called a common foul. After a replay review, they went another way. ESPN (@espn) shared the result on X: "Sophie Cunningham's foul on Chelsea Gray was upgraded to a Flagrant 1."The cost is small for now. Under WNBA rules, Cunningham is looking at a $500 fine and one flagrant point. If she collects four points across the playoffs, she will sit out a game. Indiana can ill afford that in a short series.The bigger question is what the Fever can fix by Tuesday. Game 2 tips off at Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 6:30 p.m. ET. Indiana has to win to stay alive, and one more Aces victory ends the series.Stay updated with the latest Asian Games 2026 news, check the Asian Games medal tally and complete Asian Games schedule.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.