Following the Indiana Fever’s commanding 92-75 win over the Seattle Storm at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, head coaches Christie Sides and Noelle Quinn had a tense exchange during the postgame handshake line. The pair met near the scorer’s table at midcourt, engaging in a heated discussion as the game wound down. Despite the intensity of the conversation, Sides and Quinn appeared to have resolved their differences by the final buzzer, ending their interaction with a hug.
Christie Sides and Noelle Quinn exchanging some words at the end of this game.
The two hugged in the handshake line and looked like Sides was apologizing pic.twitter.com/k0ZHEDgloA
— Tyler DeLuca (@TylerDeLuca) August 18, 2024
The broadcast speculated that the disagreement may have stemmed from when the two coaches decided to empty their benches in the closing moments of the game, which saw the Fever transform a close contest into a blowout. Indiana entered the fourth quarter with just a one-point lead but exploded with a 33-17 run to seal the victory.
Indiana’s offensive surge was fueled by the hot shooting of Kelsey Mitchell, Caitlin Clark, and Lexie Hull. Mitchell led all scorers with 27 points, followed closely by Clark with 23 and Hull with 22. The trio combined for 14 of the Fever’s 15 three-pointers, shooting an impressive 48.4% from beyond the arc. Clark narrowly missed a double-double, contributing nine assists, five rebounds, two blocks, and a steal, though she also picked up a technical foul in a heated moment of her own.
For Seattle, Jewell Lloyd led the charge with 26 points, supported by Skylar Diggins-Smith with 15 points and Nneke Ogwumike with 14. Despite strong performances from their stars, the Storm couldn’t keep pace with the Fever’s late-game onslaught.
With only a month left in the regular season, the stakes are high, and tensions can flare. However, Sides and Quinn demonstrated that even in the heat of competition, cooler heads can prevail, as they ended their spirited exchange with a show of mutual respect.
