Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever secured a 92-75 victory over the Seattle Storm in a nationally televised game on ABC, but the game wasn’t without its share of drama. Clark, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, received a technical foul under questionable circumstances, and her reaction to it became a talking point postgame.
The incident occurred when Clark, frustrated after missing a three-point shot, hit the bottom of the basket in a moment of self-directed anger. The referee deemed the action “disrespectful to the game of basketball” and issued a technical foul, a call that raised eyebrows among fans and commentators.
They gave Caitlin Clark a tech for this?? pic.twitter.com/MHtsNuDpAm
— WNBA Rookie Watch (@WNBARookieWatch) August 18, 2024
After the game, Clark revealed that the technical actually fueled her competitive fire. “I got a technical for basically being mad at myself because I missed a 3, and then I went and hit the backboard,” Clark explained. “It reminded me of the technical I got in college, where I said ‘damn it’ out of personal frustration. It had nothing to do with my team, the refs, or the other team—it’s just because I’m a competitor.”
Clark noted that the incident served as motivation, pushing her to elevate her performance. “I think he fired me up to play a lot harder,” she said. “Once we got to that media timeout about five minutes into the third quarter, I felt like we all took a breath and settled into the game.”
Reflecting on the situation, Clark admitted that she could have managed her emotions better. “I think I could have done a better job of regaining my cool, but that fire and passion are what drive me. It’s about finding a way to channel that, and I think I did a good job of it at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth.”
The Fever improved to 13-15 on the season with their win on Sunday, thanks in part to Clark’s energized play following the technical foul.
