In what was one of the most physical contests in the WNBA playoffs so far, Caitlin Clark finally shed blood. The Indiana Fever's 83-94 loss came with an intense no-call controversy.

Clark ended up with a bloody tooth in the fourth quarter after trying to reach for a rebound against Jewell Loyd. While coming down, Loyd's elbow seemingly caught Clark's mouth, sending the Fever guard tumbling to the floor.

She quickly returned to the baseline, where she was tended to. Upon her return, she rushed to the referees to show her bloody tooth, and yet no foul was called.

This was just one of the many no-call instances that left fans rallying against the referees. Clark personally ended with 18 points and four assists, which is far fewer than the 27 points she scored against the Aces in game 2.

After the game, when asked why the foul wasn't called after she got a bloody tooth, Clark said, "Your guess would be as good as mine."

The foul calls sparked heated debate online. The Las Vegas Aces received 35 free throws while the Fever only received 20.

During the second quarter, a similar incident unfolded with Lexi Hull. While trying to defend, Hull and Brianna Turner became tangled, with the latter seemingly pulling Hull to the floor.

Hull was immediately called for a personal foul. Fever Coach Stephanie White then sprang to action, rushing to the court to call for a review. Not only were the Fever not granted a replay, but Coach White was also called for a technical foul.

After the loss, Stephanie White and Caitlin Clark expressed their views on the officiating during game three of the series.

Caitlin Clark and coach Stephanie White on Fever loss and officiating

Caitlin Clark and coach White were not thrilled about the officiating during game three of the best-of-three series. White openly discussed the foul differential in the post-game presser.

"It’s a game of the margins,” White said, discussing the loss. “They had 35 free throws, and we had 20.”

"Hm. Interesting," Caitlin Clark chimed in, also expressing pride in herself and her teammates for putting up a good fight against the Las Vegas Aces.

Stephanie White was more candid after the presser and opened up fully about her views on the officiating.

"The officiating was terrible," she told IndyStar after the game. "So when you're looking at, they don't foul, but they're in the penalty early in each of those two quarters, of course it slows us down."

She further explained her technical foul during the second quarter. "They were running away from us, actually, because I got the technical for trying to go on the court to call a timeout to challenge."

Ultimately, the Fever were eliminated from the playoffs as the Las Vegas Aces head into the semifinals in the 2026 playoffs.

Written by

Prit Chauhan