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The Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun won’t be exchanging pleasantries any time soon after a fiery matchup Tuesday night that featured endless scuffles, technical fouls and eventually, ejections.
Fans, broadcasters and even Fever coach Stephanie White ripped the officiating crew for only giving Marina Mabrey a technical and allowing her to stay in the game after she knocked Caitlin Clark to the ground during a dust up in the third quarter. The fracas started after Sun guard Jacy Sheldon’s hand made contact with Clark’s eye during play. Clark and Sheldon—who jawed at each other all night—exchanged quick shoves before Mabrey stepped in and Clark ended up on the floor.
The officials reviewed the play and extracurricular activity and handed out technicals to Mabrey, Clark and Sun center Tina Charles. Sheldon was given a Flagrant 1 foul and all players involved remained in the game.
Later in the game, Clark hit a three-pointer which iced the game as Sheldon scrambled to defend. They briefly exchanged words once more before Clark fired up the crowd and watched the final minutes of the game from the bench. Fever guard Sophie Cunningham committed a hard foul on Sheldon in the final minute of the game, which resulted in a heated scrum. Cunningham, Sheldon and Sun guard Lindsay Allen were ejected as the game neared its close.
The officiating crew received plenty of flak for letting the game get out of hand, mainly for the decision to allow Mabrey to stay in the game after she shoved Clark to the ground. Following the game, the referees explained their decisions for the laundry list of upgraded fouls and why Mabrey wasn’t tossed.
“The contact made by Mabrey did not rise to the level of an ejection,” crew chief Ashley Gloss said after the game via a pool report conducted by the Indy Star’s Chloe Peterson. “Additionally, [it] did not meet the criteria for a flagrant foul penalty two.” Â
Gloss said her crew deemed Sheldon’s initial contact to Clark’s eye was unnecessary, which is why she was assessed the Flagrant 1 foul. She said Clark was given a technical foul because she “reacted in an unsportsmanlike manner” toward Sheldon. Gloss added that Charles was also given a technical because she ran toward Clark and taunted her in an unsportsmanlike manner.
The Fever won the heated contest 88-71 and clinched a spot in the Commissioner’s Cup final with the victory. They will play the Minnesota Lynx for the Cup title on July 1.
