Cunningham answers Toronto boos with hot shooting in Fever win

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham was repeatedly booed by sections of the Toronto crowd Tuesday night, but her play — and her response afterward — turned heads.

Cunningham has been a lightning rod since a July ESPN feature in which she said she wanted young girls in locker rooms and youth sports protected from competing against “biological men.” The comment ignited a national debate over transgender athletes in women’s sports, drawing praise from some conservative commentators and pushback from left-wing critics, players and coaches around the league.

At Scotiabank Arena, there was a mix of cheers and boos when she entered the game, and fans cheered when she missed a free throw, according to the Associated Press. The Canadian Press, which also covered the game courtside, reported louder boos when she officially checked in, again on free throws in the fourth quarter, and once more as she signed autographs leaving the court. Fans in the arena also held up transgender pride flags during the game; late in the fourth quarter, the venue’s video board briefly showed one during a timeout, drawing cheers — a moment both wire services reported independently.

Cunningham didn’t take the bait.

“The crowd was absolutely amazing, and I think that’s what sports is all about,” she said afterward. “You’re going to get boos, you’re going to get cheers.”

On the court, Kelsey Mitchell scored 29 points before sitting out the fourth quarter after her coach said she got “overheated,” and Caitlin Clark added 24. Aliyah Boston scored 16, and Cunningham finished with 13 points, going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. Indiana never trailed, winning 101-95 for its fifth straight victory.

Toronto’s Marina Mabrey made things interesting late: After Cunningham’s three-pointer put the Fever up 97-87 with 1:27 left, Mabrey answered with back-to-back threes to cut the margin to 97-93 inside the final minute. Indiana closed it out from there.

The win, combined with a Las Vegas loss to Atlanta that night, moved the Fever into third place in the WNBA standings.

The controversy has followed the Fever on the road for weeks, with rallies both supporting and opposing Cunningham’s stance staged outside arenas in several cities, according to CBS News. She has not walked back her comments, telling reporters in July that her position was “common sense.”