WNBA to hand out fines after skirmishes and hard fouls in Fever's stormy win over the Sun
The WNBA has upgraded the technical foul on Connecticut's Marina Mabrey for shoving Caitlin Clark to the floor during Tuesday's night game against Indiana to a Flagrant-2, a source told the Associated Press on Wednesday.
Any flagrant foul comes with an automatic fine. The person also said the league has fined the Fever's Sophie Cunningham for her role in the on-court melee that occurred after she fouled Jacy Sheldon with 46.1 seconds left. Cunningham received a Flagrant-2 during Tuesday night's game, which Indiana won 88-71.
There will be no further penalties for on-court actions during the game, the source said. The WNBA doesn't disclose the amount of money players are fined.
The play at the end of the game was the culmination of tensions that had been building throughout the evening.
Mabrey's technical followed a skirmish in the third quarter. Sheldon poked Caitlin Clark in the eye while defending her. Clark pushed Sheldon away and Mabrey forcefully pushed Clark, knocking the star guard to the ground. Clark and Tina Charles were also assessed technical fouls.
After the game, official Ashley Gloss said the contact made by Mabrey didn't rise to the level of an ejection or meet the criteria for a Flagrant-2.
After the contest, both teams said missed calls and poor game management by the officials led to the melee at the end.
Fever coach Stephanie White said 'bad officiating' is a leaguewide issue and that 'everybody [in the WNBA'[] is getting better, except the officials.'
She added: 'I started talking to the officials in the first quarter, and we knew this was going to happen. You could tell it was going to happen. So, they've got to get control of it. They've got to be better.'
Connecticut center Olivia Nelson-Ododa was also critical of the refereeing during her team's loss.
'Obviously, there was a physical game tonight. I think when things aren't managed well to begin with that it tends to get out of hand,' she said. 'I feel like a lot of stuff was escalating throughout the game, and that's what happens when you don't make the proper calls or officiate the game and manage it the right way.'
Meanwhile, Clark refused to be drawn into a debate on the subject. 'You guys came for basketball; let's talk about basketball,' she told reporters after the game.
Tuesday's storyline comes as the tough physical play in the WNBA this season has become a talking point. While some have blamed officials, others have said the WNBA has always been a physical league, and is only coming under scrutiny due to larger audiences watching star players such as Clark.
The win means the Fever will play Minnesota Lynx in the final of the Commissioner's Cup, the WNBA's in-season tournament, on 1 July.
'Obviously, we're excited. It's a big deal,' Clark said of making the final. 'It's a hard thing to do, and why wouldn't we celebrate that? We're getting to play for a pool of money – that's pretty fun – and you're competing to win a trophy. It's an extra game for us to get better, as well.'
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