Sophie Cunningham (Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Sophie Cunningham might be the second most popular player in the entire league behind Caitlin Clark.

Tempers flared at the end of Tuesday’s game between the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun.

Cunningham’s end-of-game hard foul on Jacy Sheldon immediately polarized WNBA fans, with some arguing she was acting as an “enforcer.”

Late in the Indiana Fever’s win over the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday night, Cunningham tracked down Sheldon, wrapped her arms around the Sun guard, and brought her down hard.

A brief melee ensued, and Cunningham and Sheldon went after each other as tensions boiled over.

In the aftermath, Sophie Cunningham saw her name as a trending topic all over social media.

It would take hours for fans to show appreciation as Cunningham’s jersey sold out on Fanatics.

Sun Coach Blasts Sophie Cunningham for ‘Stupid’ Move

May 4, 2025; Iowa City, IA, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) in action during the game against Brazil National Team at Carver-Haweye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
On Tuesday night, Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham received praise on social media for appearing to defend Caitlin Clark with a hard foul on Connecticut Sun guard Jacy Sheldon.

Not everybody was happy about it.

Connecticut Sun coach Rachid Meziane didn’t like Cunningham’s initial foul. In a postgame press conference, the Sun coach was asked about the fourth quarter incident and called Cunningham’s foul “stupid” and “disrespectful.”

“I did not understand,” Meziane said via Brian Haenchen of the Indy Star.

“When you are winning the game by 17 points, and you are doing this, to me, stupid foul — this is just disrespectful, and I do not know how Lindsey [Allen] and Jacy [Sheldon] get ejected from the game when they did nothing.

“For me, it’s just disrespectful to do that foul when you’re winning the game by 17 points. Completely stupid.”

Sophie Cunningham’s foul was likely in retaliation to what happened to Fever star Caitlin Clark a quarter earlier when Clark got poked in the face by Sheldon and then shoved to the ground by the Sun’s Marina Mabrey.