Sophie Cunningham and Myisha Hines-Allen Stand Up for Caitlin Clark Amid Heated Battle with Mercury

Sophie Cunningham and Myisha Hines-Allen are the unofficial enforcers for the Indiana Fever this season.

Sophie Cunningham and Myisha Hines-Allen Stand Up for Caitlin Clark Amid Heated Battle with Mercury

Sophie Cunningham, Caitlin Clark, and Myisha Hines-Allen (Image via FirstSportz)

Last season, Sophie Cunningham was brought in to be a backup guard. But she ended up being much more when her friendship with Caitlin Clark blossomed.

The two had linked up before when the Missouri native was with the Phoenix Suns, and that is what led her to agree to the trade that effectively changed the Fever’s landscape last season.

Slowly and steadily, the 29-year-old became an important factor off the bench and hit several big shots until she ended her season with a torn ACL.

But apart from those contributions, Cunningham was notable for one play that made her an overnight fan favorite. She manhandled Jacy Sheldon, Clark’s longtime rival, after the then-Connecticut Sun star apparently poked the Fever point guard in the eye.

That incident labeled the Missouri Tiger as Clark and the Fever’s official enforcer. This season, the guard has not had to bring out her protective duties until Caitlin Clark got into a scuffle with DeWanna Bonner. After the two-time All-Star and the former Fever veteran threw hands and exchanged words, Sophie Cunningham stepped up. She went towards Bonner and pointed a finger at her.

This irked the two-time WNBA champion, and she started jawing at the Fever guard. Cunningham did not say anything and kept pointing the finger.

With the crowd inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse egging her on, the 6’1″ star continued to basically troll Bonner for starting a scuffle with Clark. Eventually, security stepped in, and officials slapped Sophie Cunningham with a technical foul.

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Myisha Hines-Allen gets ejected for jawing with DeWanna Bonner’s partner

Before Sophie Cunningham started taunting DeWanna Bonner, the other enforcer the Indiana Fever signed this season stepped up. Myisha Hines-Allen was the first to step in when the Phoenix Mercury veteran was still jawing with Caitlin Clark.

A while later, Bonner’s fiancée, Alyssa Thomas, entered the fray and tried to jaw with Clark. Seeing this, MHA intervened and said some choice words towards the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medalist. Eventually, both were assessed technical fouls and had to be separated. But that was just the start. After Cunningham’s finger-pointing taunts ended, both teams resumed play.

On the very next possession, when Thomas tried to drive towards the basket, Hines-Allen blocked her shot and then shoved the Mercury playmaker.

She did not stop at that, continuing to flex and jaw at Thomas. Eventually, after teammates held her back, the officials slapped her with another technical foul, leading to an automatic ejection.

Basically, it was two enforcers sending a message that it was unwise to start a scuffle with their primary playmaker and scorer. Had DeWanna Bonner not taken out her frustrations, none of this would have mattered.

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Sophie Cunningham dismisses lingering tensions with DeWanna Bonner

During these incidents, commentators remarked that Sophie Cunningham was taunting DeWanna Bonner despite being teammates on both the Mercury and the Fever.

DeWanna Bonner and Sophie Cunningham
Bonner and Cunningham (Image via Matt Glenesk/X)

Considering how the six-time All-Star left abruptly in the early part of last season, a reporter asked the Fever guard whether there were any lingering tensions with Bonner. Since she never gave them any explanation about her exit, the reporter wondered if this was a response.

It’s old news. No. We never will. And I really don’t care anymore.

Cunningham replied

The former second-round pick made it clear that this had nothing to do with Bonner’s exit. Rather, it was something that happened in this game, and they are glad they took care of it.

She also clarified that they will face Mercury again on Wednesday. This scuffle will bear no weight. Instead, the Fever will look to fix whatever mistakes they committed in this win.

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