Stephanie White guided the Indiana Fever to a 99-89 win against the Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday. She also witnessed the referees call a technical foul on Caitlin Clark in the second quarter of Game 2.
Clark now faces punishment from the WNBA. Unless the league rescinds the technical foul after review, she will receive an automatic $500 fine under the WNBA’s rules. Reporters asked White about the incident after the game, prompting a blunt statement from the Fever coach.
“I honestly don’t remember in that moment what happened,” White said at the 1:30 mark. “More so than just trying to make sure that we kept her calm. So I don’t know.”
The incident happened with 8:33 left in the first half. The referees whistled Clark for an offensive foul for warding off Aces guard Mai Yamamoto as she attacked the basket.
Clark clearly did not agree with the call, and it resulted in a technical foul against the Fever superstar.
The Fever trailed 29-20 at that point. Clark and Co. responded with a furious run, taking a 48-43 lead into halftime.
She finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and a playoff career-high 15 assists. It was the most assists in a postseason game in Fever franchise history. Kelsey Mitchell contributed 26 points, while Aliyah Boston added 22 points, four rebounds and five assists.
Las Vegas will host a winner-take-all Game 3 on Thursday at Michelob Ultra Arena. The winner will face either the Golden State Valkyries or the Dallas Wings in the semifinals. Golden State currently leads that series 1-0.
