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The Indiana Fever cruised to a 88-71 win over the Connecticut Sun to get over the .500 mark (6-5) for the first time since May 22.
Indiana also sealed a berth in the Commissioner’s Cup championship game.
Fever star Caitlin Clark had 20 points, one rebound six assists and two steals in her second game back after returning from a quad injury. The most telling stat from the reigning Rookie of the Year is that Indiana was plus-31 with her on the court.
Clark may not have matched the 32 points she dropped in last Saturday’s victory over the New York Liberty, but she shot an efficient 6-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Things got a little chippy between the two teams at various points, with Clark among the players involved.
Clark and Sun guard Jacy Sheldon have crossed paths plenty of times in the past. Both members of the 2024 WNBA draft class, they also competed at opposing Big Ten programs. That shared history might help to explain some of their interactions Tuesday night.
Early into the second quarter, Clark and Sheldon exchanged words before Clark gave Sheldon a light shove.
Things escalated in the third after Sheldon inadvertently poked Clark in the eye. She received a flagrant 1 foul and teammate Marina Mabrey got a technical for knocking Clark to the court in the aftermath.
It looked like the game would proceed without further incident until Fever guard Sophie Cunningham wrapped up Sheldon on a drive to the basket with 46.1 seconds left. The two went at one another and the wider fracas spilled into the seats on the baseline.
When the dust settled, Cunningham, Sheldon and Sun guard Lindsay Allen were all ejected.
After the game, Fever head coach Stephanie White called out the officiating:
The Sun and Fever won’t meet again until July 15, when Indiana makes the trip to Mohegan Sun Arena. Connecticut is likely to be further out of the playoff race by then, but the tension from this contest may linger into the next encounter.
