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Things became heated between the Phoenix Mercury and Indiana Fever during their matchup on Monday, June 22, in Indianapolis.
The teams reached a breaking point in the fourth quarter, when five players received technical fouls and one player was ejected.
Mercury veteran DeWanna Bonner and Fever star Caitlin Clark escalated the growing tensions when Clark fouled Bonner early in the final quarter. The two were locked into each other before Bonner pulled her arm away, setting off Clark, who began chirping her as she walked toward the baseline.
A referee moved quickly to separate the two, and it looked like play would resume. But when Bonner walked off, Alyssa Thomas and Myisha Hines-Allen were jawing at each other and were standing nose-to-nose.
Former Mercury fan favorite — and de facto Clark bodyguard — Sophie Cunningham also joined in the action and she and Bonner pointed fingers at each other.
The Mercury’s Valeriane Ayayi restrained Bonner and Thomas, while Clark clapped in their direction. When play resumed, Hines-Allen was ejected after another heated exchange with Thomas.
"That's professional sports," Cunningham told reporters. "Sometimes things get chippy and that's OK. It's OK for women to stand their ground a little bit and to have some extracurriculars at times, because you have to stand your ground. We're not worried about that. We need to focus on winning the ball game, focus on what we can do better defensively moving forward.
"It's going to happen, you gotta take care of it, but also you need to keep your heads and move forward."
Even though the teams see each other three times per season, Phoenix and Indiana have built one of the WNBA’s more bitter rivalries over the past few years.
Before Bonner arrived in 2025, the teams had a few skirmishes, including in 2024, when then-Mercury point guard Natasha Cloud got into a heated argument with then-Fever forward Temi Fagbenle. The altercation prompted Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts to step in and restrain Cloud. Cloud, Fagbenle, Kahleah Copper and Erica Wheeler all received technical fouls after the interaction.
But Bonner’s highly publicized split with the Fever in 2025 grew the bitterness between the teams.
The veteran saw limited playing time, averaging 21.3 minutes with three starts in nine games. She produced career lows (7.1 points and 3.8 rebounds) before taking five games away for personal reasons and was subsequently released on June 25.
Bonner received a lot of online hate following her exit and contemplated returning to basketball. But after spending time with her family, she returned to the franchise that drafted her and regained her joy.
Bonner was booed in her return to Indiana as a member of the Mercury in 2025, which prompted Copper to call out the Fever’s fans for their "distasteful" behavior.
"I just don't understand," Copper said. "Like, she's a legend. All the things she's done for the league. The disrespect, I just can't get down with it."
Responding after a July 30, 2025, road loss to the Fever, Bonner had an emotionally charged performance eight days later in Phoenix, scoring 23 points with seven rebounds.
Throughout the game, Bonner exchanged words with Lexie Hull and drew the ire of Cunningham after Bonner drew a clear-path foul on Cunningham. But things never escalated.
"We're all human, and there's probably a lot of people that doubted she could still play at the same level," Tibbetts said at the time. "It didn't work out for either party while she was there (in Indiana).
"I'm sure that it's left a chip on her shoulder. It was an emotional game last week for all of us going back there. The bounce back she had, good for her. ... There was an edge to her, which is great."
Cunningham continued the conversations about Bonner’s split during an August 2025 episode of her "Show Me Something" podcast. The former Mercury guard criticized how Bonner left the team and asked her to "send a text and be like, 'Hey, love you guys.'”
“Or you don't even have to say 'Love you guys.' Just be like, 'Hey, sorry this didn't work out, good luck,'” Cunningham added. “You know what I mean? There’s a way (for Bonner) to handle that, I think."
Cunningham’s comments were revisited on June 22, but Cunningham said in her postgame interview that it was “old news” and will never get an explanation from Bonner.
“I really don't care anymore,” Cunningham said.
To add to the heightened emotions, the two teams will meet again in Indiana on Wednesday, June 24. And Clark is nearing a one-game suspension after receiving her fifth technical of the season.
Under WNBA rules, a player or coach is automatically suspended for one game upon receiving their eighth technical foul during the regular season. Every two additional technical fouls received during the regular season will result in an additional one-game suspension.
Clark has agreed with some of her technicals, but she took exception to the one called against the Mercury.
"It's ridiculous," she said. "I got a technical for clapping, so we should all just go on the calendar now and pick a game that I'm going to be suspended for if I'm going to get technicals for clapping.
"If any technical should be taken away, it should be that one. I don't understand it."
The teams will meet again in Phoenix on July 9, for the third and final time during the 2026 regular season.
Reach the reporter or send tips for stories at [email protected], as well as @jennarortiz on X.
Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don't miss a thing.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Recapping bad blood. Mercury and Clark, Cunningham, Fever
Continue reading...
The teams reached a breaking point in the fourth quarter, when five players received technical fouls and one player was ejected.
Mercury veteran DeWanna Bonner and Fever star Caitlin Clark escalated the growing tensions when Clark fouled Bonner early in the final quarter. The two were locked into each other before Bonner pulled her arm away, setting off Clark, who began chirping her as she walked toward the baseline.
A referee moved quickly to separate the two, and it looked like play would resume. But when Bonner walked off, Alyssa Thomas and Myisha Hines-Allen were jawing at each other and were standing nose-to-nose.
Former Mercury fan favorite — and de facto Clark bodyguard — Sophie Cunningham also joined in the action and she and Bonner pointed fingers at each other.
The Mercury’s Valeriane Ayayi restrained Bonner and Thomas, while Clark clapped in their direction. When play resumed, Hines-Allen was ejected after another heated exchange with Thomas.
"That's professional sports," Cunningham told reporters. "Sometimes things get chippy and that's OK. It's OK for women to stand their ground a little bit and to have some extracurriculars at times, because you have to stand your ground. We're not worried about that. We need to focus on winning the ball game, focus on what we can do better defensively moving forward.
"It's going to happen, you gotta take care of it, but also you need to keep your heads and move forward."
Even though the teams see each other three times per season, Phoenix and Indiana have built one of the WNBA’s more bitter rivalries over the past few years.
Before Bonner arrived in 2025, the teams had a few skirmishes, including in 2024, when then-Mercury point guard Natasha Cloud got into a heated argument with then-Fever forward Temi Fagbenle. The altercation prompted Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts to step in and restrain Cloud. Cloud, Fagbenle, Kahleah Copper and Erica Wheeler all received technical fouls after the interaction.
But Bonner’s highly publicized split with the Fever in 2025 grew the bitterness between the teams.
The veteran saw limited playing time, averaging 21.3 minutes with three starts in nine games. She produced career lows (7.1 points and 3.8 rebounds) before taking five games away for personal reasons and was subsequently released on June 25.
Bonner received a lot of online hate following her exit and contemplated returning to basketball. But after spending time with her family, she returned to the franchise that drafted her and regained her joy.
Bonner was booed in her return to Indiana as a member of the Mercury in 2025, which prompted Copper to call out the Fever’s fans for their "distasteful" behavior.
"I just don't understand," Copper said. "Like, she's a legend. All the things she's done for the league. The disrespect, I just can't get down with it."
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Responding after a July 30, 2025, road loss to the Fever, Bonner had an emotionally charged performance eight days later in Phoenix, scoring 23 points with seven rebounds.
Throughout the game, Bonner exchanged words with Lexie Hull and drew the ire of Cunningham after Bonner drew a clear-path foul on Cunningham. But things never escalated.
"We're all human, and there's probably a lot of people that doubted she could still play at the same level," Tibbetts said at the time. "It didn't work out for either party while she was there (in Indiana).
"I'm sure that it's left a chip on her shoulder. It was an emotional game last week for all of us going back there. The bounce back she had, good for her. ... There was an edge to her, which is great."
Cunningham continued the conversations about Bonner’s split during an August 2025 episode of her "Show Me Something" podcast. The former Mercury guard criticized how Bonner left the team and asked her to "send a text and be like, 'Hey, love you guys.'”
“Or you don't even have to say 'Love you guys.' Just be like, 'Hey, sorry this didn't work out, good luck,'” Cunningham added. “You know what I mean? There’s a way (for Bonner) to handle that, I think."
Cunningham’s comments were revisited on June 22, but Cunningham said in her postgame interview that it was “old news” and will never get an explanation from Bonner.
“I really don't care anymore,” Cunningham said.
To add to the heightened emotions, the two teams will meet again in Indiana on Wednesday, June 24. And Clark is nearing a one-game suspension after receiving her fifth technical of the season.
Under WNBA rules, a player or coach is automatically suspended for one game upon receiving their eighth technical foul during the regular season. Every two additional technical fouls received during the regular season will result in an additional one-game suspension.
Clark has agreed with some of her technicals, but she took exception to the one called against the Mercury.
"It's ridiculous," she said. "I got a technical for clapping, so we should all just go on the calendar now and pick a game that I'm going to be suspended for if I'm going to get technicals for clapping.
"If any technical should be taken away, it should be that one. I don't understand it."
The teams will meet again in Phoenix on July 9, for the third and final time during the 2026 regular season.
Reach the reporter or send tips for stories at [email protected], as well as @jennarortiz on X.
Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don't miss a thing.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Recapping bad blood. Mercury and Clark, Cunningham, Fever
Continue reading...
