Fever coach calls out 'egregious' officiating after missed foul on Caitlin Clark

Fever coach Stephanie White calls out 'egregious' officiating after missed foul on Caitlin Clark image

Despite another double-double from Caitlin Clark, Saturday’s loss dropped the Fever to 2-2 on the early season.

The defending champion Liberty snuck by Indiana 90-88 after Clark, who finished with 18 points, couldn’t get a shot off at the buzzer as Natasha Cloud poked the ball free. Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu combined for 49 points for New York, while Aliyah Boston also posted 27 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana.

However, it was that final play that caused a stir for the Fever — not only did Clark plead for a foul call as Cloud’s physicality deprived her of getting a shot off, but Fever head coach Stephanie White also had plenty of criticism for the officials postgame.

Here’s a look at the potential missed foul at the end of Fever vs. Liberty, and what White had to say about it.

Stephanie White calls out WNBA officials

In what ultimately was a two-point loss for Indiana, Clark drew Cloud’s defense off an inbound play with just seconds remaining. Given the chance to tie it with two points or win it with three, Clark instead lost the ball, as Cloud poked at the ball while pressing against Clark.

White was not happy with the no-call after the game.

“I thought she got fouled. I think it’s pretty egregious what’s been happening to us these last few games. A minus-31 free-throw discrepancy — I might be able to understand that if we’re chucking 3s, but we’re not,” White said, per Chloe Peterson.

As for the free-throw discrepancy White was referring to, Indiana took 15 shots from the line on Saturday, while New York took 32. The 3-point attempt category was similar, with the Fever shooting 23 and the Liberty shooting 27.

And over their last three games, as White mentioned, opponents have shot 31 more free throws than the Fever.

“We’re attacking the rim. The disrespect right now for our team has been pretty unbelievable,” White added, per Chloe Peterson. “It’s disappointing that it doesn’t go both ways, but we can’t allow that to consume us.”