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Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham received praise on social media Tuesday night as she appeared to defend Caitlin Clark with 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 came over 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.
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Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, #8, and Connecticut Sun guard Jacy Sheldon, #4, get into a fight in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on June 17, 2025. (Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images)
The hard foul came after Sheldon poked Clark in the eye in the third quarter. Sun guard Marina Mabrey then shoved Clark to the ground in what was a chippy affair.
As the Fever put away the Sun 88-71, Cunningham was congratulated for stepping up as the team’s enforcer.
Fever head coach Stephanie White was upset with how the referees officiated the game and about the inability to take control.
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Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, #8, in the second half against the Connecticut Sun at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on June 17, 2025. (Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images)
“I think it was pretty obvious that stuff was brewing,” White said, via Indy Star. “When officials don’t get control of the ball game, when they allow that stuff to happen … it’s been happening all season long, all season long. It’s not just this game.
“This is what happens. You’ve got competitive women who are the best in the world at what they do and when you allow them to play physical, and you allow these things to happen, they’re gonna compete, and they’re gonna have their teammates’ backs. It’s exactly what you would expect out of fierce competition.
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, #8, and Connecticut Sun guard Jacy Sheldon, #4, scuffle in the second half of a WNBA basketball game in Indianapolis on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
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“I started talking to officials in the first quarter, and we knew this was gonna happen. You knew this was gonna happen. They gotta get control of it. They gotta be better. They gotta be better.”
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