The Fever’s 92-75 victory over the Storm on Sunday was a big night for Caitlin Clark, featuring everything from setting a WNBA rookie record to earning a technical foul.
The 22-year-old guard, who’s adjusting well to professional play, wasn’t happy about being hit with her fifth technical foul of the season. After the game, she explained her frustration to reporters. She got a technical for hitting the support structure under the basket out of anger after missing a 3-pointer. The referee told her that her outburst was “disrespectful to the game.”
Clark wasn’t pleased with the call, saying it wasn’t about her team, the referees, or the opposing team. It was just her frustration showing.
While Clark isn’t known for being fiery off the court, she’s definitely passionate when she plays. During her time at Iowa, she was often seen getting fired up or showing frustration, which made her a prominent figure in women’s college basketball.
Despite her annoyance with the technical foul, Clark felt it actually motivated her to play harder. She said that the incident spurred her on and helped her team perform better.
And she wasn’t wrong. The Fever were leading 43-38 when the foul happened, but they went on to win by 17 points, outscoring the Storm 33-17 in the final quarter.
While it’s clear Clark can turn frustration into fuel, the Fever would prefer she keeps her composure. With five technical fouls this season, she risks a one-game suspension if she gets two more.
