Injured Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham still in middle of all the drama

Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham both managed to end up in the spotlight despite not playing in Game 3 of the Fever’s first-round upset against the Dream.

Following their shocking 87-85 win Thursday, Clark and other Indiana players held up a “W” symbol with their hands as they walked off the Gateway Center court, while Cunningham ended up on the broadcast for standing near midcourt — and not moving, even as a police officer asked her to back up — with Clark nearby as Indiana’s Odyssey Sims remained on the court after drawing a foul earlier in the game.

Clark (groin) and Cunningham (right knee) have both been ruled out for the season, which will now extend at least another round after the No. 6-seeded Fever toppled the No. 3-seeded Dream.

Indiana exited the court to boos following their win, which prompted Clark and others to turn around to different fans and flash their “W” signs.

And with just over four minutes left in the fourth quarter, Cunningham waited just behind the midcourt line following Allisha Gray’s foul and seemingly was told to not move any further — though it’s unclear what exactly, if anything, was said between her and the police officer during the brief exchange.

Cunningham reposted a photo of the encounter that included a caption of, “THIS IS SOME AURA.”

The Fever, who entered the season as potential title contenders after hiring Stephanie White as head coach and landing Cunningham to complement the rest of their lineup, proceeded to struggle for most of the year as they lost five players to season-ending injuries.

Among those was Clark, their superstar who dealt with injuries to both groins and her left quad before getting shut down earlier this month.

So Sims producing 16 points and dishing the assist to Aliyah Boston on the game-winning basket Thursday was surprising.

The Fever — led by Kelsey Mitchell’s 24 points — winning two straight games against the Dream injected some chaos into the WNBA playoff picture, too, given that Clark and Cunningham were both stuck on the bench.

“We say it pretty much ad nauseam, but it’s the resilience, the flexibility, the welcome and inclusive nature of this team, their selflessness to pull for the we over the me, the ability to let each teammate be who they are and shine at their best and to lift them up,” White told reporters postgame. “In those moments, that’s good for 12-15 points. It is. You couple that with the resilience, the toughness, the grit, the fight, the scrappiness, and you always give yourself a chance.”

The Fever will face the Aces during their first semifinals appearance since 2015.