Christie Sides, coach of the Indiana Fever, responds bluntly to Caitlin Clark’s technical infraction in their loss against the Los Angeles Sparks
Caitlin Clark’s head coach confronted her about her actions toward officials.
Caitlin Clark earned her first career 30-point game in the WNBA, but the Indiana Fever’s disastrous start to the season continued Tuesday night with an 88-82 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. Clark had the finest scoring performance of her rookie season, but a technical foul in the last seconds of the first quarter placed the Fever behind early on.
Indiana head coach Christie Sides was asked after the game about what led to Clark earning the technical, but instead of responding, she indirectly called out the former Iowa record-setting
“We’re spending too much time talking to the officials,” Sides stated.”We ought to leave that alone. We must simply play our game and let them to perform their job, rather than placing our trust in them to make decisions that will ultimately harm us. We don’t want and shouldn’t get technicals. Let me gather the technical details. Let me go after the officials.
Clark received her first technical penalty in the WNBA last week for making a profane remark in the fourth quarter of a loss to the Connecticut Sun.
Clark became the first rookie to reach 30 points in a game this season. She shot 7-for-16 from the floor, but hit 13 of 15 free throws, collecting five rebounds and handing out six assists.
“I think she was attacking, she was getting downhill, she was also spraying out as well,” Sides stated. “The way they’re going to protect her, you know, they could probably have called about five or six more fouls with their hands on her, but I thought she did a nice job of getting others involved. I know she had some terrific downhill drives and struck Kelsey (Mitchell). She shot the ball well tonight. I understand she needed to feel good about it.”
Clark set multiple records throughout her four-year undergraduate stint at Iowa, where she became a household celebrity. This previous season, women’s collegiate basketball skyrocketed in popularity thanks to top players, like Clark. Iowa received record television ratings for the Elite Eight, Final Four, and national championship games. Clark became the all-time scoring leader for any NCAA Division I player, men’s or women’s, and surpassed Lynette Woodard as the all-time scoring leader in major women’s college basketball, with 3,951 points.
