Sophie Cunningham, the Indiana Fever’s enforcer, brought intensity in the team’s 35-point loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday. One third-quarter sequence from Cunningham even had sidelined star Caitlin Clark hyped up.Cunningham was on fire from beyond the arc, and after sinking a 3 nearly halfway through the third, she switched to defense, matching up against former teammate Kahleah Copper. The two got physical, exchanging shoves. Copper, who is in the final year of her two-year, $490,118 deal with the Mercury, was hit with an offensive foul. The sequence had Clark on her feet, and she dapped up Cunningham.Offensively, the Fever had a rough night, shooting just 34.3% as a team. Sophie Cunningham was the lone bright spot, notching a season-best 18 points and knocking down five triples.Kelsey Mitchell finished with 12 points but struggled, going just 4-of-16. Aliyah Boston chipped in only four points on six attempts, and Lexie Hull had a brutal night with two points on 1-of-11 shooting.For the Mercury, Alyssa Thomas made WNBA history by recording her third consecutive triple-double, tallying 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.Former Fever star DeWanna Bonner added 23 points off the bench, going 7-of-16, and Copper had 11 points and six rebounds.Clark remained out, missing her ninth straight game since suffering a right groin injury on July 15.With the defeat, Indiana dropped to 17-14 on the season.Caitlin Clark trolls Sophie Cunningham and Lexie HullCaitlin Clark has found chemistry on and off the court with her teammates Sophie Cunningham and Lexie Hull, forming the trio known as “Tres Leches.”Beyond game-time moments, the three often share banter online, including a recent TikTok posted by Cunningham. In the video, she and Hull are poolside in swimsuits with the caption:"Convince us there's a swimsuit brand that wants to partner with two Indiana Fever mermaids."The post got traction and caught Clark’s attention, prompting her to drop a playful jab in the comments."Swimsuit brands plz comment ‘focus on basketball,’” she wrote.This season, the Fever are 9-9 without Clark and have struggled to find consistency. After her injury, Indiana lost two straight, rebounded with five wins in a row and then dropped two more.While Clark still has no set return date, the Fever are back home after a tough four-game road stretch. They’ll host three consecutive games against non-playoff teams in the Chicago Sky, Dallas Wings and Washington Mystics, before heading out again to face the last-place Connecticut Sun.