Whether it’s TV ratings, merchandise sales, or a media rights deal, the WNBA is experiencing exponential growth.
However, a guilty pleasure has also seen a rise, with some recent on-court tussles. Caitlin Clark’s popularity has led to extra scrutiny, so opposing teams have been waiting to put the young player in her place.
She was tested again during last night’s game against the Connecticut Sun when the sharpshooter was picked up by Jacy Sheldon, who played lock-down defense on her for most of the game.
Their Big Ten rivalry dates back to their college days, when Clark was with Iowa and Sheldon was at Ohio State. In this particular game, it boiled over in the third quarter.
While backing down Clark, Sheldon reaches in and pokes her in the eye. The two bump into each other before Marina Mabrey comes to her teammate’s defense by shoving Clark to the floor. For their roles, Clark, Mabrey, and Tina Charles all received technical fouls, while Sheldon was issued a Flagrant 1.
Suddenly an already chippy game was worsened with less than a minute left in the game when Sheldon came up with a steal and drove down the court for a fast break. But Sophie Cunningham wasn’t letting her get away with easy points and wrapped her up in the paint.
Sheldon fell to the floor but immediately got up and went after Cunningham, which ended in a tussle, with Cunningham getting ejected.
The game ended in a blowout, as the Fever won 88-71, and the Suns’ head coach, Rachid Meziane, decried Cunningham’s actions with some pointed words in the post-game press conference.
“I did not understand, Meziane said, according to Sports Illustrated. “For me, it’s just disrespectful to do that foul when you’re winning the game by 17 points. Completely stupid.”
Clark took a different approach when asked about the game’s conflicts, opting to focus the attention on the Fever making it to the WNBA’s in-season tournament.
“You guys came for basketball, let’s talk about basketball,” Clark said. “Come on now. We’re going to the Commissioner’s Cup Championship, that’s pretty exciting. Y’all wanna talk about that? Let’s talk about that.”
See social media’s reaction to the heated competition below.