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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark had a productive afternoon Sunday against the Seattle Storm, scoring 23 points to go with five rebounds and nine assists in a 92–75 win.
However, Clark incurred a technical foul in the third quarter when she punched the base of a basket in frustration. She disputed the technical—her fifth such foul of the season—with the game’s officials, and detailed her conversation with them after the game.
“I got a technical for basically being mad at myself,” Clark explained to reporters. “I missed a three and went and hit the (basket), and (the referee) told me it was ‘disrespectful to the game of basketball.'”
The way Clark is officiated has been a longstanding source of discussion among fans, dating back to her days at Iowa.
“It had nothing to do with my team. It had nothing to do with reffing. It had nothing to do with the other team,” Clark said. “It was just because I was a competitor… I think he fired me up to play a lot harder, though.”