Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham went on a scathing rant against the WNBA refs and cited their inability to “protect” star players as her reason for defending Caitlin Clark in Tuesday’s game against the Connecticut Sun.

Sophie Cunningham and Jacy Sheldon (Photos via Twitter)

Tuesday night’s game between the Fever and Sun was a heated affair that resulted in three ejections and a couple of player fines. It all started when Jacy Sheldon was called for a foul after poking Fever star Caitlin Clark in the eye.

As the two exchanged words, Marina Mabrey came in from behind and delivered a cheap shot on Clark. Sheldon was called for a flagrant one foul, and three technicals were issued following the melee:

Unhappy with Sheldon’s foul against Clark, Sophie Cunningham took matters into her own hands by putting a chokehold around the Connecticut star as she drove to the basket. Cunningham, Sheldon and Lindsay Allen were all ejected following this skirmish:

Speaking to reporters ahead of Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Aces, Sophie Cunningham ripped the WNBA officials for failing to protect star players. As such, it won’t stop her from “protecting” her teammates.

“I’m not focused on the extracurricular activities. During that, it was just part of the game. I think the refs had a lot to do with that. It was a build up for a couple years now of them just not, not protecting the star player of the WNBA. And so at the end of the day, I’m going to protect my teammates, that’s what I do and I’m a team player.”

No suspensions were handed out over the incidents, though the league both fined Mabrey and Cunningham.

Sophie Cunningham & Fever Look To Get Back Above .500 In Las Vegas

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images)

The Fever (6-6) will look to get back above .500 when they visit the struggling Aces on Sunday afternoon. Las Vegas has lost three in a row and five of their last six, but we’ll see if they can turn it around on Sunday.