It wouldn’t be a playoff game without a little bit of controversy. With that being said, fans weren’t thrilled with how the refs handled Game 3 between the Indiana Fever and Las Vegas Aces.
There was a moment in Game 3 where Aces forward Brianna Turner got tangled up with Fever guard Lexie Hull and dragged her to the ground. The foul was ultimately called on Hull, who immediately expressed her disappointment with the refs.
In the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, Caitlin Clark was temporarily knocked out of the game after taking an elbow to the face. Although she got a bloody lip, the refs didn’t review the play for a potential flagrant foul.
Even fans who had no rooting interest for Game 3 were frustrated with the refs.
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
“The most disgusting rigged game of all time,” one fan said. “No one will ever respect AJ and Aces after this win.”
“Fever have more rebounds, more assists, more steals, more blocks and less turnovers than Aces,” a second fan commented. “Aces have far less fouls and way more freethrows…that’s the difference between the teams. These refs ain’t slick.”
“Switched to the WNBA game… no joke… 4th quarter of a series decider game and the refs have called extremely soft defensive fouls on the Fever for 6 straight possessions and none on the Aces. Went from a 3 pt game to a 10 pt game. Joke of a league,” another fan declared.
Tough way for the Indiana Fever’s season to end.
The Fever had plenty of opportunities to defeat the Aces and book a spot in the WNBA semifinals. At the end of the day, they couldn’t slow down Chelsea Gray and A’ja Wilson in the fourth quarter.
With this season officially over, the focus shifts over to Indiana’s roster and what changes need to be made. We’d have to imagine the front office will prioritize keeping Kelsey Mitchell.
As for the Aces, their pursuit of back-to-back titles is alive and well.
