Seattle Storm Coach Tells The Truth About Heated Exchange With Christie Sides

The Indiana Fever hosted the Seattle Storm on Sunday, looking for their second straight win after the WNBA’s break in the season for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Indiana defeated the Storm in dominant fashion, sending them home with a 92-75 loss.

During the fourth quarter, a heated sideline exchange took place between Fever coach Christie Sides and Storm coach Noelle Quinn.

While it seemed like both coaches were going up to each other to shake hands, with seconds left in the fourth quarter, Quinn was actually approaching Sides to confront the Indiana coach.

The play-by-play crew mentioned they believed it was due to Sides leaving her starters in the game when the match was already decided. Indiana was up big for much of the fourth quarter, so there was the belief Quinn took offense to Sides leaving in her starters once Seattle emptied their bench.

Indiana Fever head coach Christie Sides with guard Caitlin Clark (22)

Following the game, Sides and Quinn shook hands, and the dispute was settled. Quinn spoke with the media to address the situation in the postgame press conference.

She mentioned she respects Sides, and the two were just talking about sportsmanship.

“I respect Christie,” Quinn said. “Been in this league for a long time. … We were just having a spirited conversation about gamesmanship. That’s it.”

While Sides has not commented on the situation, it seems there was a simple miscommunication since the Fever coach was seen apologizing to the Storm’s coaching staff after the game.

Aside from the heated exchange late in the game, Sunday featured an incredible showing for the Fever.

Fever rookie Caitlin Clark finished the game with 23 points, nine assists and five rebounds. Indiana also had a couple of incredible performances from Kelsey Mitchell, who scored a team-high 27 points, and Lexie Hull, who notched 22 points, shooting 6 of 7 from 3-point range.

The Fever look to keep their foot on the gas after a dominant win against the talented Storm. They have another test against a team above .500 in the Minnesota Lynx on Aug. 24 at 8 p.m. ET.