Sophie Cunningham Blasted by Portland's Emily Engstler After Heated Exchange

The Indiana Fever have probably already burned the tape from their 100-84 loss to the Portland Fire in Portland on Saturday night.

All-Star Fever guard Caitlin Clark got into early foul trouble and posted six points on 14.3% shooting from the field, good for her second-worst scoring performance since the Fever drafted her No. 1 overall in 2024. But it wasn’t just Clark; not a single Fever player had a positive plus-minus rating.

Frustrations boiled over in the fourth quarter when Fever guard Sophie Cunningham swiped the back of Fire forward Emily Engstler’s head, leading to a heated verbal exchange. Cunningham and Engstler were assessed a double technical foul.

After the game, Engstler was asked what was said between them.

“I don’t think you want to know what we were saying,” Engstler said with a smile. “Listen, it’s basketball. But at the end of the day - I’m gonna put it in words I’m allowed to say - no one scares me, and she sure doesn’t. So, I’m gonna stand there and let people talk to me a certain way, or hit me.”

Cunningham finished the game with 15 points, four assists, three rebounds, and one steal in 26 minutes off the bench. Engstler recorded 16 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, four steals, and two blocks.

The Fever (4-4) will look to snap a two-game losing skid against the Atlanta Dream (5-2) in the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup on Thursday, June 4. The Fire (6-4) will face the Golden State Valkyries (5-2) in their first WNBA Commissioner’s Cup clash on Tuesday, June 2.

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This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 3:25 PM.