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The New York Liberty visited Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on Saturday. The reigning WNBA champions won 90-88 to keep their record unblemished.
But much of the chatter after the game centered around the game’s officiating, particularly the last 10 seconds of the close contest. While there were at least three calls of note that favored the Liberty, the Fever’s final possession seemed to draw the lion’s share of the attention.
Clark had possession with Indiana trailing by two with a chance to tie. But New York guard Natasha Cloud knocked the ball away from Clark. Referees did not blow the whistle for a foul despite pleas from last year’s WNBA reigning rookie of the year.
The referees’ decision in the closing seconds, and Clark’s reaction, sparked mixed reactions across the sports world. CBS News New York sports anchor and reporter Steve Overmyer added his two cents during a recent broadcast.
“On the final play, Natasha Cloud comes up with the game-winning steal. Was it a foul? Take a closer look,” Overmyer said as a replay of the moment was shown on the broadcast.
CAITLIN CLARK’S COACH CALLS OUT WNBA FOR ‘EGREGIOUS’ OFFICIATING: ‘THE DISRESPECT HAS BEEN UNBELIEVABLE’
“She got all ball. Clark tried to sell it like she got hit by a sniper, but there was no foul, no call,” he concluded.
Cloud also blocked a shot from DeWanna Bonner. Some observers argued Cloud made contact with Bonner, not just the ball, on the play. However, officials did not call a foul on the play.
Indiana head coach Stephanie White took issue with Saturday’s officiating. She described the non-call on Bonner’s shot attempt “egregious.”
“I thought it was egregious, honestly. I thought it was obvious,” White said.
Elsewhere, Fever guard Lexie Hull was whistled for a foul against New York’s Sabrina Ionescu. Indiana could not use one of their challenges for the play in question because they had already exhausted their timeouts.
White offered her assessment of the play.
“It was an offensive player veering into the defensive player’s path. We have to be able to play through it. But at the same time, I feel like it’s really disrespectful,” the coach said.
“There’s a system to making sure we can send [concerns about officiating] in and communicate our grievances, so to speak. 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.”
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