The Indiana Fever needed a fourth-quarter surge to put away the Phoenix Mercury 86-77 on Monday night. But the final score wasn’t the only thing people were talking about after the game.
Things got chippy in the closing minutes when Sophie Cunningham and DeWanna Bonner went at it. The two former teammates — they spent a brief stretch together in Indiana last season — got into a heated exchange near midcourt. Bonner did most of the talking while Cunningham appeared to be mocking her. Both players picked up technical fouls.
The backstory makes this one personal
Bonner and Cunningham were both Fever additions last offseason. But Bonner’s time in Indiana didn’t last long. She played just nine games before requesting a trade, unhappy with how she was being used. The six-time All-Star was eventually waived and made her way back to Phoenix, the franchise she played for from 2009 to 2019.
Cunningham, meanwhile, had a solid season going before a knee injury ended her year early. That shared history made Monday’s dustup feel less like random playoff-intensity aggression and more like some unresolved tension finally spilling out.
The Fever needed every bit of that aggression to climb out of an early hole. They trailed by 16 points in the first quarter and hit only two three-pointers in the opening frame. But they flipped a switch after that, slowly clawing back before taking control in the second half.
It’s a good sign for Indiana, which had lost two straight coming into this one. But the scuffle between Bonner and Cunningham adds a new layer to what’s already been an eventful season for both players.
Neither the Fever nor the Mercury have commented on the incident beyond the on-court calls. But fans online were quick to point out the awkwardness of two players who shared a locker room last summer going at it like this. Video of the exchange circulated fast on social media.
The Mercury now head back to Phoenix for a stretch of home games. The Fever stay in Indianapolis for their next matchup. Whether this carries over to the next time these two meet remains to be seen.
Leave a Comment