Caitlin Clark continued her recent scoring surge on Monday night, finishing with 24 points and nine assists to lead the Indiana Fever to an 86-77 win over the Phoenix Mercury at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The victory snapped Indiana’s two-game skid and improved the team to 10-7 on the season.
But the night also came with more frustration over officiating after Clark picked up another technical foul. The call came during a heated fourth-quarter sequence after Clark fouled former Fever teammate DeWanna Bonner. The two exchanged words and Clark was then assessed a technical foul for clapping toward Phoenix players during the stoppage.
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The game turned chippy from there, with multiple technical fouls handed out to players on both teams, including Fever’s Sophie Cunningham. Myisha Hines-Allen was also ejected after receiving her second tech of the night.
After the game, Indiana revealed it planned to challenge the ruling. According to The Athletic’s James Boyd, the Fever filed an appeal, hoping to have the technical rescinded.
However, Boyd reported Wednesday that the Fever were still waiting to hear back from the league, but he had been told by the WNBA that Clark’s technical foul “was not rescinded.” That means the technical remains on her record entering Thursday’s game.
Clark now has five technical fouls on the season, which means she will be fined $1,000 by the WNBA and also receive a warning letter. Under league rules, players are automatically suspended for one game once they reach eight technical fouls.
The Fever will hope Clark can avoid reaching the suspension threshold as they continue to depend heavily on their franchise guard.
Indiana will be back at home on Thursday for another meeting with Phoenix. Tipoff for the rematch with the Mercury is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
