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Caitlin Clark, Fever get last laugh after brawl with Sun
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Caitlin Clark has already endured more than her fair share of hard fouls in just her 2nd season in the WNBA. On Tuesday, the former Iowa superstar added to her tally late in the win by the Indiana Fever over the Connecticut Sun.
In what was a chippy game throughout, things escalated in the 3rd quarter after Clark was hit in the face by Jacy Sheldon. A former Ohio State star and the No. 5 pick from last year’s draft, Sheldon and Clark have their own history from their time in the Big Ten, but Tuesday’s foul ignited a larger incident.
After being hit in the face, Clark and Sheldon got together face-to-face in an exchange of words. Sheldon eventually bumped Clark away, and that’s when things got dicey.
Connecticut’s Marina Mabrey and Tina Charles came charging in, including Mabrey slamming Clark to the ground with a body-check. Even the commentators felt Mabrey was due an ejection for the incident, but the officials felt otherwise.
In the aftermath, Sheldon was charged with a flagrant foul, but Clark was also hit with a technical foul. Mabrey and Charles also received technicals, though neither player received an ejection.
Here’s what it looked like live:
Despite the dicey situation, Clark and the Fever were not deterred. Indiana eventually put things away with a push in the 4th quarter, complete with a dagger 3 from Clark with over 3 minutes left to play.
The bucket was right in the face of Sheldon, and Clark added some words directed at the Sun bench afterwards:
While the final outcome was long decided, the drama was not yet over. With less than a minute to play, Sheldon found herself on a fast break against Indiana’s Sophie Cunningham, and Cunningham sent a clear message.
Cunningham sent Sheldon to the floor with a hard foul that would be called as a flagrant. The two quickly went face-to-face, igniting another brawl between the players.
Cunningham, Sheldon and Connecticut’s Lindsay Allen were all ejected in the aftermath of that play. The game eventually ended shortly after that with the Fever winning 88-71, going 2-0 since Clark returned to the court.
The WNBA has not yet announced any additional penalties for those involved in the altercations from Tuesday night.
Clark also shined with 20 points, 6 assists, 2 steals and 4 made 3-pointers in the win. The elite guard is now 10-for-20 from 3-point range since returning from her injury.
Clark’s missed time has put her in a bit of a hole in the latest WNBA MVP odds produced by FanDuel. She is still 2nd in the odds at +250, but Clark will likely need a massive run to catch up to the current leader, Napheesa Collier, at -320.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.