Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham continues to share her thoughts on the WNBA Playoffs from afar, including criticizing the officiating in games and calling out the Atlanta Dream's Angel Reese for "dangerous" plays.
Cunningham, appearing on a new episode of her "No Hesitation" podcast, specifically discussed several plays involving Reese against the New York Liberty from Game 3 of their semifinal matchup.
It was a particularly aggressive and physical game, with the Liberty trying to avoid elimination in their home venue, Madison Square Garden, as the Dream wanted to advance to the WNBA Finals.
The Fever star called it "absolutely insane" that Reese didn't receive a technical foul for an incident in which she followed the Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu up the court in the first half and was in her ear about the play. It occurred after a hard screen Ionescu set that was called an offensive foul.
Cunningham also called the refereeing "weird and inconsistent" because they also gave technical fouls to Reese and the Liberty's Jonquel Jones when they got in each other's faces after a later play. Cunningham suggested on the podcast episode that she would've preferred the refs let them trash talk a bit because that's "playoff basketball."
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With under two minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Liberty's Breanna Stewart drove into the lane, bumping into a Dream defender who fell to the floor. With Stewart wide open, Reese jumped over to try to defend and ended up crashing into her, knocking Stewart down.
Cunningham's co-host Drew Hanlen showed a later play from the fourth quarter with players diving for a loose ball. At one point, Reese dove for the ball and into a Liberty player's legs, causing the Liberty star to trip and fall onto the court.
Hanlen pointed out that those two plays occurred after another whistle and weren't called as fouls against Reese, and Cunningham shared her reaction. While praising Reese's effort for getting "down and dirty," she also called out the danger involved in what she did.
"Angel is going to play hard. ... I appreciate that about her. .... But you can't tackle someone in the air and go for someone's knees and ankles," Cunningham said. "Like that's a dangerous play, technically both of those are a little dangerous and for those just to go uncalled, is that not weird?"
Cunningham praised Reese's effort while raising concerns over inconsistent WNBA officiating and the potential for players to get seriously hurt.
During Game 3, Reese had four fouls and the technical foul she received for jawing with Jones. Cunningham also suggested the referees might "protect" certain players from fouling out, which could factor into a highly watched and high-stakes matchup like the Liberty and Dream's Game 3.
Reese won the 2026 Defensive Player of the Year for her work this past season. She and the Dream advanced to the WNBA Finals with a gritty 85-83 win in Game 3, and now face the Golden State Valkyries, who are the league's top defensive team.
The Dream and Valkyries tip off Game 1 at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17.
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