It won’t be surprising to say that there is no love lost between the Indiana Fever fans and Phoenix Mercury’s DeWanna Bonner. It won’t be shocking that June 22, the first meeting between the two teams this season, was probably circled on everyone’s calendar.

After a slow start, the hosts certainly gave their loyalists an avenging win. But the feisty heat during the game on Monday night was not something that many would’ve expected. And once again, the Fever’s enforcer, Sophie Cunningham, made sure she made the most out of the opportunity.

With eight minutes remaining in the regulation and the Fever leading 54-73, the Mercury were set to transition into their possession after Natasha Mack’s defensive rebound. But before anything could really begin, Caitlin Clark and Bonner were battling with tangled arms in the backcourt. The veteran shrugged her hands away from the point guard when the latter got a whistle. But it only got worse from there.

While Clark and Bonner verbally jabbed at each other momentarily, Alyssa Thomas got herself into the situation. Before she could stop the two, Fever’s Myisha Hines-Allen started saying something to Thomas. The two were quickly assessed a double technical foul. While that was going on, Clark was hyping up her home crowd to get even louder. As she learned about her personal foul, she asked the referees in shock, “WHAT THE F*** DID I DO?”

That was enough for yet another whistle as Clark was handed her fifth technical of the season.

But while Clark continued her argument with the referees, an even bigger confrontation was already brewing nearby.

Enter the Fever’s enforcer: Sophie Cunningham.

As Bonner realized what was going on between Thomas and Hines-Allen, she returned to the scene to point out how the Fever had been aggressive with them the whole night, too. But Cunningham didn’t take it on her nose. While she didn’t say much to Bonner, she had her finger pointing at her with eyes locked in for the next six seconds before the Fever security pulled her away.

Yes, the fray reached the point that security had to be brought in from both teams to keep the players separated. By the time order was restored, officials had seen enough. To put it simply, here is what happened in just a few minutes:

• A double technical foul on DeWanna Bonner and Sophie Cunningham.
• A technical foul on Caitlin Clark. (Her fifth of the season)
• Another double technical foul on Alyssa Thomas and Myisha Hines-Allen.

While all technical fouls neutralized each other, Bonner got to make one technical free throw. She missed it.

Still, the drama was far from over.

As the game kicked off again, within eight seconds, Hines-Allen was hit with a personal foul as she shoved Bonner. With her continuing to argue, she was assessed her second technical foul of the night, resulting in an automatic ejection.

But for anyone who has followed the relationship between Cunningham and Bonner over the last year, none of this came as a surprise.

The Bad Blood Between Sophie Cunningham and Bonner

The roots of the tension between these players can be traced back to Bonner’s brief and controversial stint with the Fever in the 2025 season.

Bonner arrived in Indiana as one of the franchise’s biggest offseason additions, joining Clark and head coach Stephanie White in hopes of competing for a championship. But after just nine games, Bonner took a leave of absence, requested a trade, and got waived by the Fever to eventually return to the Mercury.

Still, what frustrated Cunningham — a player who loves her team — wasn’t necessarily the departure itself. It was how it happened.

During an appearance on the Show Me Something podcast back then, Cunningham revealed that Bonner left without saying even a goodbye to her teammates.

“It’s okay to be professional about it and, like, send a text to your teammates,” she said at the time.

While one can argue that the Mercury is still Cunningham’s former team, most of it has changed, with only Kahleah Copper remaining in the core. So, what happened with Bonner and the Fever takes center stage whenever Indiana and Phoenix meet.

The first matchup after Sophie Cunningham’s remarks turned heavily physical, and the Fever guard later confirmed she believed the hostility stemmed directly from what she had said publicly.

But on Monday night, it was a fire explosion waiting to happen as the Fever turned tables on the veteran team, supposed to be a contender for the second year in a row. Next up, the Fever will host Phoenix again on Wednesday, and there’s no doubt that it will be another game worth watching.