Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark was one technical foul away from missing the WNBA regular-season finale. Thanks to her teammates, she didn’t get one.
In Sunday’s 110-109 win over the Dallas Wings, Clark was ready to go off on the referees after getting called for a loose ball foul late in the second quarter. Clark battled Wings forward Natasha Howard for the ball, drove to the basket and missed the layup, but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway as Clark was called for a loose ball foul prior to the shot.
After seeing the replay on the jumbotron at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Clark immediately put her hands in the air and angrily went to plead her case to the nearest referee. Fever teammate Kelsey Mitchell stuck out an arm to hold Clark back, and Aliyah Boston quickly joined in on tech prevention duty, waving off the nearby ref.
At one point, Boston put both her hands on Clark’s head and repeatedly told her “No” before turning her around to the bench. Clark, ever determined to let the ref have it, circled back and appeared to walk toward the official again when Fever guard Erica Wheeler smartly stepped into her path and diverted her to safety.
Crisis averted.
The Fever went on to beat the Wings with Clark putting up a whopping 35 points and setting the WNBA’s new rookie scoring record. Due to an all-around team effort, Clark also avoided receiving her seventh technical of the season, which would have suspended her from Thursday’s game against the Washington Mystics.
The other good news for the playoff-bound Fever is that Clark’s technicals are wiped clean after the regular season, so the rookie guard won’t be in danger of missing any games in the first round of the postseason.
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