A WNBA analyst has spoken about the heated exchange between the Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark and the Phoenix Mercury star DeWanna Bonner in the game that ended 86-77 in favor of Indiana. The analyst thinks the officials "escalated the whole situation.

The Indiana were leading 73-54 when Clark and Bonner got into an altercation with seven minutes 57 seconds left in the fourth quarter, which brought a reaction from Clark later on as she clapped, eventually receiving a technical foul. Analyst Rachel DeMita talked about it on her Courtside Club podcast on June 23, criticizing the referees.

"They were just exchanging words, the referees got in the mix, they called a tech on both of them," DeMita said in video segment of her podcast she posted on X. "From that, it kind of escalated."

DeMita explained how Clark and Bonner exchanged words before referees got involved. She further said that after Alyssa Thomas, Myisha Hines-Allen, and Sophie Cunningham also received technical fouls for getting involved in the scuffle, things started to escalate.

"That is when everything just hit the fan. And I feel like the referees completely just ruined the flow of the game. Like for the rest of the fourth quarter, there was a whistle blown every 20 seconds."

DeMita highlighted how the officiating became stricter during the final seven minutes of the game and how it frustrated her, as in the final seconds of the game the entire roster had changed with Indiana leading.

While DeMita was complaining about the officiating, the fouls haven't been overturned, leaving the two-time All-Star in deep trouble for her future games.

Caitlin Clark Can't Get Enough of Technical Fouls

With this foul in the bag, Clark has now committed five technicals this season and will receive a warning letter from the WNBA. She earlier got four of them against the Los Angeles Sparks on May 13, the Golden State Valkyries on May 22, the Chicago Sky on June 11, and the Connecticut Sun on June 13.

Furthermore, as per the WNBA rules, cited by Athlon Sports, players get a $500 fine for the first three technicals, and a $1,000 fine for fourth to seventh.

According to this, Clark's fine has now increased to $3,500. A player also gets a one-game suspension after their eighth technical foul, which Clark is getting closer to now.

In the post-game interview after beating the Mercury, Clark seemed frustrated with the decision regarding her fifth technical foul.

"It's ridiculous; I got a technical for clapping. We should all just go on the calendar now and pick a game I'm going to be suspended for if I'm going to get technicals for clapping."

Clark would have to be more careful going in her next game against the Mercury, which will tip-off on Wednesday, June 24.

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Written by

Dhruv Singh

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi