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Sophie Cunningham, Jacy Sheldon Part of Ejection Fest After Fracas in Fever-Sun Game

Several players were ejected after a huge scuffle during the Indiana Fever's June 17 win over the Connecticut Sun.
Grant Young|
Jun 17, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) and Connecticut Sun guard Jacy Sheldon (4) get into a fight in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Jun 17, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) and Connecticut Sun guard Jacy Sheldon (4) get into a fight in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The Indiana Fever's 88-71 win over the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday came with a ton of extracurricular activity between players, especially surrounding Sun guard Jacy Sheldon.

In the second quarter, Sheldon and Fever star guard Caitlin Clark got into a brief shoving match after Clark took exception to exceedingly physical defense Sheldon was playing. While this eventually resulted in no technicals or flagrants getting called, it all led to a tense moment during the third quarter.

This came when Clark was dribbling into the paint when she was poked in the eye by Sheldon. From there, these two got into another shoving match, which ended with Sun wing Marina Mabrey coming up and shoving Clark to the ground.

As a result of this shove, Mabrey (who was somehow not ejected), Clark, and Sun veteran Tina Charles all got technical fouls while Sheldon's foul was upgraded to a flagrant.

But that's not the end of the intensity. With less than a minute remaining in the game, Sheldon was driving to the basket when Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (who is clearly Indiana's enforcer on the court) wrapped her up around her neck area and dragged her down to the ground while she gathered to shoot.

This caused what looked to be about as close to a fight as you'll see in a WNBA game, as Cunningham got into a shoving match with several Sun players that ultimately involved several players and staff members.

As a result of this moment, Cunningham, Sheldon, and Lindsay Allen were all ejected from the game. There are also surely fines to come from this moment.

It seems there's a new rivalry within the WNBA.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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