Sun HC slams ‘stupid foul' by Fever, Sophie Cunningham

Yahoo

22-06-2025

The post Sun HC slams 'stupid foul' by Fever, Sophie Cunningham appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Things got out of hand during the Connecticut Sun and Indiana Fever game, which led to several players being fined afterward. With less than a minute left in the game and the Fever up by double digits, Sophie Cunningham made hard contact with Jacy Sheldon as she was driving to the paint.
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That led Cunningham to be assessed a flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game, as well as Lindsay Allen and Sheldon. After the game, Sun head coach Rachid Meziane spoke about the play.
'I did not understand. 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 Lindsay (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,' Meziane said.
Cunningham ended up being fined for the play, and she has also received some backlash for her actions toward the end of the game. Meziane noted that the team didn't stick to the game plan and focus on what they needed to do to win the game, but it was a good learning opportunity.
Fever and Sun game get physical
Before the fourth quarter altercation, things started to get out of hand in the third quarter. Cailtin Clark was poked in the eye by Sheldon, which led both players to get tangled up after. Tina Charles and Marina Mabrey then came into the picture, and Mabrey chest bumped Clark, leading her to fall on the floor. Sheldon was assessed a flagrant 1 foul, and Clark, Mabrey, and Charles were given technicals.
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Meziane was asked after the game if he thought Mabrey should have been ejected for her bump on Clark.
'She just tried to be between two players, but no, I don't think she deserved to be ejected,' Meziane said. 'This is not my job. I am a coach. The ref has to do their job, to clean up the game and make sure the best team won the game and not just who is more physical. I don't think my players deserved this ejection.'
That is what most likely led to Cunningham fouling Sheldon hard late in the game, as she wanted to try and protect her teammate. At the same time, that wasn't the best move, and she ended up getting fined for it.
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