INDIANAPOLIS — With a chance for the Fever to secure an early statement win against the reigning champions Liberty at home on Saturday, it was the officiating, not the players, who took center stage.
Fever head coach blasts officials for ‘disrespectful’ treatment after loss to Liberty
After a controversial series of calls to close their loss to the Liberty, Fever head coach Stephanie White had plenty to say about the officials.
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Jacob Rude covers Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever as an in-person, credentialed journalist based in Indianapolis for SB Nation, in addition to writing and managing Lakers coverage at Silver Screen and Roll.
A series of calls in the final 10 seconds all went against the hosts, culminating in Caitlin Clark being stripped by Natasha Cloud on the final play of the game as New York escaped with a two-point win.
After the game, Fever head coach Stephanie White held nothing back on her thoughts of not just the final play, but the treatment she’s felt her side has received from officials over the last week.
“I thought she got fouled,” White said. “I think it’s pretty egregious what’s been happening to us the last few games, a minus-31 free throw discrepancy. And I might be able to understand that if we were just chucking threes, but we’re not. We’re attacking the rim and the disrespect right now for our team has been pretty unbelievable.
“It’s disappointing that it doesn’t go both ways or it hasn’t gone both ways.”
The free throw discrepancy White referenced was not just in the Liberty game in which New York shot 17 more free throws, but the difference in attempts at the charity stripe over the last week that also featured a pair of physical games against the Dream.
The final play of the game on Saturday wasn’t the only controversy either. With just over 10 seconds remaining, DeWanna Bonner was blocked on a layup attempt by Cloud on a play that had a lot of contact involved.
On the ensuing Liberty possession, Sabrina Ionescu got to the rim and was fouled by Lexie Hull, sending her to the line for two free throws with 2.9 seconds left that ultimately was the difference in the game.
“I thought it was egregious, honestly,” White said of the two decisions by the refs. “[Bonner’s] was crazy and then Lexie…we talk about coming into the path and it was an offensive player veering into the defensive player’s path, so I mean it is what it is. We have to be able to play through it, but at the same time I feel like it’s really disrespectful.”
Like the NBA, the WNBA has a system in place in which teams can submit video clips to the league office of plays they feel were incorrect. However, it’s a process in which the change that comes from it is hard to measure.
“There’s a system to make sure that we can send stuff in and communicate our grievances, so to speak,” White said. “I don’t know that I ever feel like the system works. We’re not looking for a change. We’re just looking for consistency.”
And on a day when a pair of non-calls on the Fever sandwiched game-winning free throws for the Liberty, one could understand the emotion and desire for consistency, right or wrong.
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