The Indiana Fever-Phoenix Mercury matchup is starting to look like one of the WNBA’s nastier rivalries. Phoenix beat Indiana 111-109 on Wednesday, two days after the Fever had taken the first meeting 86-77 in a game that featured six technical fouls and an ejection.
Wednesday brought more of the same and featured physical play and several controversial moments. One of the most notable incidents occurred in the second quarter when Alyssa Thomas made contact with Caitlin Clark’s neck on a loose-ball sequence that went uncalled.
Clark later took another hard foul on a 3-point attempt from Valeriane Ayayi and left the game after appearing to aggravate her back injury on the play.
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Her exit only added to the frustration for Fever head coach Stephanie White, who was visibly upset with the officiating in her postgame media session:
“It was egregious,” White said of the no-call on the Clark neck contact. “The fact that it was a no-call… it’s absolutely egregious and utterly disrespectful.”
She also referenced Monday’s controversial officiating and criticized the league for its treatment of Clark:
“You’re coming in here aware of what happened two nights ago and that [explicit] still happens? Absolutely unacceptable... We have a generational talent and a WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots right there that weren’t called, and I just say again, absolutely unacceptable.... The one thing that we keep asking for is consistency. She is not called the same way everybody else is called” (h/t Tony East of Circle City Spin).
While many Fever fans would agree with White’s frustration, her comments could still lead to league discipline.
The WNBA has a long history of fining coaches for public criticism of officiating, and White knows that firsthand.
Last postseason, she and Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon were each fined $1,000 for comments supporting Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve’s criticism of the referees. Reeve herself was fined $15,000 after blasting playoff officiating.
If the league decides White crossed the line on Wednesday, another fine could follow.
With Wednesday’s loss, the Fever dropped to 10-8 on the season and 7th in the WNBA standings. They will look to bounce back when they host the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday. Indiana and Phoenix will also renew their rivalry when the two teams meet again on July 9.
