WNBA star Caitlin Clark finished with 26 points, four rebounds, 11 assists, two steals and one block to lead the Indiana Fever to a 90-86 victory over the Chicago Sky on Saturday. However, the game wasn't without issues.
Aside from Sophie Cunningham getting hit in the head on a Flagrant 2 foul by DiJonai Carrington, Clark also received her eighth tech of the season after accidentally hitting the referee.
Late in the third quarter of the game, Clark stumbled to the sideline after some contact with Natasha Cloud while driving to the basket. It caused her to lose her balance and control of her movement, eventually hitting the referee.
As the WNBA's rules state, a player's eighth technical foul carries a $1,500 fine and a one-game suspension. The league, however, can rescind the call if it deems that the play doesn't warrant a tech.
Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
Clark said after the game that she hopes the WNBA would rescind the call since it was completely unintentional. Furthermore, she didn't say anything to the referee.
Interestingly, the WNBA quickly made a decision on the call, as reported by Kareem Copeland of ESPN.
"Caitlin Clark's technical foul has been rescinded by the league," Copeland wrote shortly after the end of the Fever-Sky game.
That means Clark will be available to play when the Fever face the New York Liberty on Tuesday.
Reaching eight technical fouls would have been troublesome for Clark, especially since every even-numbered tech after that carries a suspension. That means she would also be suspended when she reaches her 10th, 12th and 14th technical fouls and so on.
Sure enough, though, Clark will have to be really careful about her actions on the court since Indiana has plenty of games left in the season. For a team trying to get a top-four seed, the Fever certainly need their best player on the court to make it happen.
