INDIANAPOLIS – Things spun out of control during Tuesday night’s game between the Indiana Fever and the Connecticut Sun.

Fever coach Stephanie White saw it coming and said she tried to warn the officials that bad blood brewing between the teams would eventually boil over. Some of that bad blood originated from the teams’ earlier meeting this season, a Fever loss in which guard Sophie Cunningham took a hit and injured her ankle on a screen.

In White’s view, officials let too much contact go during Tuesday’s game and didn’t take “control” of the action on the floor. There was some jawing. There were some hard fouls. Players pushed and shoved and pulled without hearing a whistle.

Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White, right, talks with referee Jenna Reneau in the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Connecticut Sun in Indianapolis, Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

It all came to a head in an ugly second half that included a pair of flagrant fouls—one for each team—and saw Fever star Caitlin Clark get blindsided by another player.

“I think it was pretty obvious that stuff was brewing,” White said. “When the officials don’t get control of the ballgame, when they allow that stuff to happen—and it’s been happening all season long, all season long, not just this game—this is what happens.”

Clark had the ball near the top of the key when she got poked in the eye by Jacy Sheldon. The two had been talking back and forth since the first quarter.

Clark stumbled and grabbed her eye. She and Sheldon shoved each other as other players entered the fray. The Sun’s Tina Charles got between them and then Clark, who was looking to her left, got knocked to the floor. The culprit? Sun guard Marina Mabrey, who came in from the right side and pushed her.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) is hit by Connecticut Sun guard Marina Mabrey (3) during a scuffle in the second half of a WNBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

That led to a lengthy official review, with referees looking at the replay from several different angles. They assessed Sheldon with a flagrant one foul and handed technical fouls to Clark, Mabrey and Charles.

According to the postgame pool report, crew chief Ashley Gloss said Sheldon’s foul rose to the level of a flagrant because the contact was unnecessary. She said there was “wind up and impact” to Clark’s face.

The replay is as clear as day: Mabrey’s shove blindsided Clark and put her on the floor. Yet, the Sun player remained in the game. She wasn’t ejected or given a penalty beyond the technical.

“The contact made by Mabrey did not rise to the level of an ejection,” Gloss said in the pool report. “Additionally, (it) did not meet the criteria for a flagrant foul penalty two.”

On Wednesday, the WNBA reversed course, announcing that Mabrey had been retroactively assessed a flagrant two foul and fined. Had the foul been called during the game, she would have been ejected. She was not suspended.

The officials assessed technical fouls to Clark and Charles for “unsportsmanlike” conduct. Specifically, Clark “reacted in an unsportsmanlike manner towards Sheldon” and Charles “runs toward Clark in an unsportsmanlike manner and taunts her.”

Somehow, it got even uglier in the fourth quarter. With less than a minute left in the game and the Fever enjoying a 17-point lead, Sheldon drove for a layup after a steal.

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) and Connecticut Sun guard Jacy Sheldon (4) scuffle in the second half of a WNBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Cunningham grabbed her for a hard foul that put Sheldon on the floor. She took exception to that and went at Cunningham on the baseline. Sun teammate Lindsay Allen also got involved, pushing Cunningham back. It led to a scuffle near the stands, with players, coaches and security working to break it up.

Time for another lengthy official review.

Ultimately, the officials assessed Cunningham with a flagrant two, calling her foul “unnecessary and aggressive.” She was ejected.

On Wednesday, the WNBA fined Cunningham for her role in the scuffle. Like Mabrey, she was not suspended.

Sheldon and Allen were both given technical fouls for fighting and also ejected. Gloss said the players “were both escalators in that altercation and therefore they were ejected for fighting.”

White believes all the ugliness could’ve been avoided.

“Call the fouls that are actually happening on the floor,” White said. “And consistently call the fouls that are actually on the floor. And not just if someone swings and misses. Consistently call the fouls.”

In her view, the officials failed both teams on Tuesday night.

“You’ve got competitive women who are the best in the world at what they do, and you allow them to play physical and you allow these things to happen, they’re going to compete,” White said. “And they’re going to have their teammates’ backs. It’s exactly what you expect about fierce competition.”

White agreed Cunningham’s foul was flagrant. But she’s concerned officials aren’t keeping the games under control, leading to escalating incidents like the third- and fourth-quarter scrapes from Tuesday night.

“I think it’s a leaguewide issue,” she said. “Bad officiating is bad officiating.”