Just a few days ago, Indiana got bullied. Atlanta brought the heat, and the Fever folded – disorganized, rattled, and flat-out outmuscled. But they clearly had enough. Because when they faced the Connecticut Sun, they flipped the script and delivered what might just be the most physical game of the season. Caitlin Clark took a hit and a tech in the opening heat, but it was Sophie Cunningham who made sure all hell broke loose after that.
The second Caitlin Clark and Jacy Sheldon hit the hardwood, things were tense. Both college rivals were aggressive, physical, and clearly had no plans to let up. But by the third quarter, the sparks turned into full-on fire. Clark was bringing the ball up when she backed Sheldon down near the top of the key. Suddenly, Sheldon’s hand went straight to Clark’s face – poking her in the eye.
Clark, furious, immediately shoved her away in frustration. Just when you thought it might end there, Sun guard Marina Mabrey escalated things. She charged over and shoved Clark hard to the floor as her back was turned. The skirmish that followed was instant. Players rushed in, trying to separate bodies before it went too far. Clark returned to the bench while the refs huddled to make their calls. Sheldon’s foul was upgraded to a flagrant, and offsetting technicals were issued to Clark and Sun veteran Tina Charles.
Mabrey, despite the intensity of the shove, was only handed a technical and not ejected – something that left fans, commentators, and the Fever bench in disbelief. But if you thought the drama was finished, the fourth quarter said, “not yet.” With just 46.1 seconds remaining and the game clearly in Fever’s hands, Sheldon was on a breakaway. But Sophie Cunningham wasn’t about to let her glide to the hoop. She wrapped both arms around Sheldon – completely stopping her in motion – and then dragged her toward the floor.
Jun 17, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) in the second half against the Connecticut Sun at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Within seconds, nearly every player around the play jumped in, and the officials had another storm on their hands. Three players were ejected from the game: Jacy Sheldon, Lindsay Allen, and a Fever guard. The moment instantly went viral. Many believed it was intentional. Analyst Rachel DeMita didn’t hold back on her take.
“My straight up honest opinion on this… she bear hugged her, took her to the ground… Yes, it was intentional. It was absolutely intentional,” she said. She strongly believed it was a ‘payback.’ “But she (Sophie) did it in a way that she wasn’t going to injure JC. She was just making it known, like, if the refs aren’t going to handle it, I will handle it. We’ll take care of it. But this is not what you’re going to do when you come into our house,” DeMita added.
To add to it, let us tell you, Cunningham isn’t just physical for the sake of it. The 6-foot-1 guard earned her black belt in taekwondo at the age of 6. If she wanted to hurt Sheldon, she could have. But that wasn’t the point. She was sending a message: “If you mess with our star, you’re messing with all of us.” Online, fans mostly rallied behind her. Many praised Cunningham for standing up for her teammate, calling it the kind of fire and loyalty every team needs.
Postgame, she didn’t apologize. She didn’t issue a statement. Instead, she posted a picture on Instagram of herself mid-shrug – like she already knew the reaction coming her way. The photo spoke louder than words, and her follower count exploded – over 4,000 new fans in under two hours. But while Fever fans loved the move, Sun head coach found it “disrespectful.”
Coaches weigh in on the fiery clash(es)
The Indiana Fever might’ve punched their ticket to their first-ever Commissioner’s Cup final, but the road there was pure chaos. Tuesday night’s fiery showdown with the Connecticut Sun ended in controversy, maybe a new rivalry, frustration, and plenty of questions about officiating.
After the hard-fought 88–71 win, the Fever celebrated on the court, but the Connecticut sideline was all furous. Sun head coach Rachid Meziane made his stance loud and clear, and he wasn’t holding anything back when it came to Sophie Cunningham’s hard foul on Jacy Sheldon in the final minute. “I did not understand [Cunningham’s foul]. When you are winning a game by 17 points and you doing this, to me, stupid foul, this is just disrespectful and I don’t know how Jacy and Lindsay [got] ejected from the game when they did nothing,” Meziane said.
The Sun coach didn’t just see the foul as excessive, he saw it as unnecessary and disrespectful, especially coming from a player on the winning side. Meanwhile, Fever head coach Stephanie White had her own frustrations to air out directed at the treatment of Caitlin Clark. She questioned the technical foul handed to Clark during the third-quarter chaos and was crystal clear about what she thought.
“There wasn’t an explanation for the technical [Clark] got. I think it was pretty obvious stuff was brewing,” White said. To her, it was about the whole pattern. She brought up how it has been the same all season long. And on Tuesday night, she felt like her star was left unprotected again. “Everybody’s getting better, except the officials. We need to remedy that. I mean, we’ve heard every coach talk about it. I don’t know what the answer is,” she said.
Stephanie White, new Indiana Fever head coach, speaks Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, during a press conference held on Salesforce Court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Both coaches believed their teams were wronged. But they were talking about very different moments. But in the end, the Fever walked away with the win and a ticket to the Commissioner’s Cup final. But what should’ve been a celebration was clouded by controversy, with both sides fuming and the league now under pressure to address officiating issues.
The post Black Belt Sophie Cunningham Held Back From Hurting Jacy Sheldon In Fever vs Sun Bust-Up, Per National Analyst appeared first on EssentiallySports.
