BREAKING: Caitlin Clark Is Officially Done
She must be careful now.
The Indiana Fever cruised past the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday night, and Caitlin Clark had plenty to do with it. She finished with 27 points and 11 assists in a lopsided 123-88 win, reminding everyone why she remains the most talked-about player in the league.
That dominant performance came with a catch, though. Clark is now dangerously close to a suspension after picking up her seventh technical foul of the season during the fourth quarter.
Caitlin Clark’s Technical Foul Total Keeps Climbing
Caitlin Clark (Photo via Imagn Images)
The incident started after Clark tossed the ball to an official following an exchange with Sun guard Saniya Rivers. Words were quickly exchanged between the two, and the officiating crew ended up handing technical fouls to both players.
Clark explained her side of the confrontation afterward.
“She said she was locking me up, so I said, ‘Scoreboard,’ and the ref didn’t like that,” Clark told reporters, via ESPN. “I’m never going to back down. I think just continue to try to control your emotions the best you can. That intensity and that fire is what makes me me, but also knowing my team needs me and finding a good balance of that.”
Under WNBA rules, players are automatically suspended for one game once they reach seven technical fouls in a season, with an additional game tacked on for every second technical after that. Clark is now sitting right on that threshold, and the league hit her with a $1,000 fine for Wednesday’s incident.
It’s not the first time her temper has drawn scrutiny this year, either; she was previously caught on camera venting at a Sun coach during an earlier matchup in June.
Fever Coach Isn’t Worried About Reining Clark In
Caitlin Clark. Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Fever head coach Stephanie White was asked whether Clark needs to tone things down given her rising total, and she didn’t hold back her amusement at the question.
“Anybody who thinks that I have a plan to be strategic about technical fouls is crazy,” White said. “I mean, look, she’s just got to pick and choose, right? She’s got to pick and choose, and it’s every two after that. So I think the biggest thing is she knows, she has awareness about it. We’ll try to help her when we can, but sometimes we can’t.”
Clark’s fiery reputation has become a bigger storyline throughout the season, particularly as questions swirl about how physically opponents are allowed to play against her. The topic boiled over last month when teammate Sophie Cunningham publicly criticized the league‘s handling of contact against Clark following a hard foul that led to a suspension for Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas.
For now, Clark remains available, and the Fever return to action July 28 against the Seattle Storm. One more technical, though, and Indiana will have to prepare to play without its franchise player for at least a game.
