The rivalry between the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun intensified following a late-game incident where Fever guard Sophie Cunningham committed a hard foul on Connecticut’s Jacy Sheldon. This altercation saw both players ejected, and Cunningham subsequently faced a fine.

Earlier in the game, Fever star Caitlin Clark was also subjected to a flagrant foul by Sun guard Marina Mabrey. Following the skirmish, Cunningham lightened the mood by posting a humorous lip-sync video to Selena Gomez’s “Hands to Myself,” stating:

“It’s a joke … the sound was too fitting! happy game day.”

Sun coach Rachid Meziane criticized the foul as disrespectful, noting,

“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 get ejected from the game when they did nothing.”

In response, Fever coach Stephanie White expressed her frustrations with the officials, asserting that the lack of control led to the brewing tensions throughout the season.