The Indiana Fever extended their winning streak on Saturday night, with an impressive 85-75 victory over the Connecticut Sun to improve to an 8-5 regular-season record. However, the closing minutes of the matchup were completely overshadowed by an officiating sequence involving guard Caitlin Clark and referee Tyler Mirkovich.

With just 2 minutes and 30 seconds left in the game, Clark deflected the ball out of bounds. She then attempted to kick the ball towards herself but failed, and it hit the scorer's board. She finally went after the ball and picked it up.

The sequence resulted in a technical foul, later reclassified as a delay-of-game violation. This turned that personal technical foul into a team one.

After that, with 22 seconds remaining in the match, Clark received a personal tech foul, which has now increased her season number to four. This means she is only one more away from receiving a warning letter from the WNBA.

Caitlin Clark had received personal technical fouls against the Los Angeles Sparks, the Golden State Valkyries and the Chicago Sky earlier in the season.

Clark will now also be fined $1,000 for the foul. As per the WNBA's new rules, players get fined $500 each for the first three technical fouls.

The amount increases to $1,000 for fourth through seventh technical fouls. The player receives a one-game ban after their eighth technical foul.

"The technical, I deserved it. But it was worth it," Clark candidly told reporters after the match.

"The delay of game made no sense. It felt like Tyler wanted to insert himself into the game, and that was ridiculous. I went and got the ball... then he gave us a delay of game. I don't agree with that."

Had the personal tech not been downgraded to a team tech, Clark would have been ejected

This has now made the fans react to the incident on social media.

Fans React To Caitlin Clark's Kicking The Ball Incident

Fans had mixed opinions about the delay-of-game foul involving Clark. While some fans called it unfair, others felt like the call was deserved.

"She even ran after it. If she didn't care she would have just kicked it away. They are looking for anything at all to affect her," one fan posted on X, defending Clark's intentions.

Another fan agreed, noting a broader pattern in how Caitlin Clark is being targeted by referees, saying, "Anything they can do to her… they do."

The fan suggested that there shouldn't have been a call given, as the two-time All-Star ran after the ball immediately after kicking it away.

Meanwhile, a segment of fans rushed to defend Mirkovich's strict application of the rulebook.

"Maybe learn the rules," a fan countered, highlighting that any unsportsmanlike kicking of the basketball mandates a whistle regardless of intent.

Another neutral fan summarized it as a highly sensitive call. "Very, very soft tech... basically just like if you slam the ball in frustration," the fan wrote.

Another fan reminded everyone how Clark used to play soccer back in the day, but in a sarcastic way. "She was elite soccer player in 9th grade before she focused on just basketball and those skills came back," the fan wrote.

Despite the late-game controversy, the Fever successfully protected their lead. A game-high 25 points from Clark and a clutch 11-point closing run from Sophie Cunningham helped them keep their streak alive.

The Indiana Fever must now shift their focus back to hosting the Toronto Tempo on Tuesday, June 16.

Do you feel the technical foul was right? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Dhruv Singh

Edited by

Koushik Biswas