Sophie Cunningham takes another shot at WNBA refs.
Sophie Cunningham Calls Out WNBA Refs Over Preferential Treatment Of Paige Bueckers originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Indiana Fever found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard Tuesday night following their closely fought battle against the Dallas Wings. Without Caitlin Clark for what was the 20th game this season, the Fever ended up falling 81-80.
Although they got a strong show from Kelsey Mitchell, who poured in 24 points on 7-of-15 shooting, and were able to limit Dallas' Paige Bueckers to 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting, the Wings saw scoring outbursts from a couple of unexpected players. Forward Maddy Siegrist scored a career-high 22 points, while center Li Yueru added a career-high 20 points off of the bench.
However, if you were to ask Fever guard Sophie Cunningham what went wrong Tuesday night, she may point in the direction of the officiating. On Wednesday's episode of "Show Me Something," Cunningham, who has already been fined for commenting on officiating on the show, accused the refs of giving Bueckers too many foul calls.
"I love Paige to death, do not get me wrong, I think she's a hell of a player and would love to play with her one day," Cunningham said. "But those refs were giving her every freaking whistle last night. Like, you literally couldn't touch her. Couldn't touch her and that (expletive) is so annoying to me. And if you're gonna do that, give it to our guards. Like, I just hate the inconsistency."
Sophie Cunningham's Issues With WNBA Officiating
Cunningham has had multiple disagreements when it comes to officiating this season and has already been fined twice this season for voicing her displeasure publicly. It likely didn't help matters that she was hit with a controversial Flagrant 1 when contesting a shot by Bueckers in the loss.
Although the officials called more fouls on Dallas (19) than they did Indiana (17), it's clear that Bueckers who made all four of her free throw attempts may already be getting the superstar treatment in the eyes of the seven-year vet.
Related: Slo-Mo Video of Sophie Cunningham's Flagrant Foul on Paige Bueckers Sparks Backlash
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
