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Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark was whistled for a technical foul in the third quarter of Sunday’s 81-74 win over the Minnesota Lynx, and the ruling drew a mixed reaction on social media.
The No. 1 overall pick was whistled for swinging her right arm and making contact with the face of Lynx forward Cecilia Zandalasini.
ESPN@espn
Caitlin Clark was assessed a technical foul for contact to the face on Cecilia Zandalasini. <a href=”https://t.co/GOalpYRKFC”>pic.twitter.com/GOalpYRKFC</a>
Whereas some thought it was a soft technical, others believed the call was correct by the letter of the law.
Cowboys Due Diligence@StevieJPTX
I mean they refuse to call the hook and grab. What is she supposed to do?
TLCoop@TLCoop2
Crap foul. She was pulling her arm away frim the defender who was HOLDING her.
Paddo@PaddoCast
Obviously an accident as Zandalasini was still pulling and holding onto her arm. Deserves the tech but nothing nefarious.
Brian@BkcSports
A technical foul on Caitlin Clark for that? <br>LOL okay
Tyson Ewing@tyewing2
Caitlin Clark is uh… not proving to Coach Cheryl Reeve that she is deserved of a Team USA spot in this one… boneheaded turnovers, poor shot selection, stupid technical foul, and consistent complaining to the officials. Not a good day for the rook!
Clark now has four technicals on the season, putting her in a tie for the second-most in the WNBA. Three more will trigger an $800 fine and an automatic one-game suspension.
The rookie guard will be happy to have come away with the victory, which moved the Fever to 11-14 on the season. Individually, though, this probably wasn’t a performance she’ll remember fondly.
Clark scored 17 points but shot 5-of-17 from the field and 2-of-11 from three-point range. She also finished with as many turnovers as assists (six). With 139 giveaways in total, the 22-year-old already owns the single-season record.
Indiana hits the road to play the Dallas Wings on Wednesday before Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell will take part in Saturday’s All-Star exhibition against Team USA.
