

The WNBA will not issue any suspensions following the skirmish that broke out at the conclusion of Tuesday’s game between the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun, a league source confirmed to The Athletic.
With 46 seconds remaining in the game, Indiana wing Sophie Cunningham was assessed a flagrant 2 after attempting to stop Connecticut guard Jacy Sheldon on a layup attempt — a foul that knocked Sheldon to the floor. The sequence sparked an altercation between players on both teams. Three players, including Cunningham, were ejected. In addition to being assessed the standard fine for a flagrant 2, Cunningham will receive an additional fine for her role in the scuffle that followed the initial foul, the source said.
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The source told The Athletic that Sun guard Marina Mabrey’s third-quarter technical foul has also been reassessed to a flagrant 2 foul and that Mabrey will be fined accordingly. No other players received additional punishment from the league.
After the game, which Indiana won 88-71, Fever coach Stephanie White criticized the contest’s referees, saying the WNBA has a league-wide issue.
“Everybody (in the league) is getting better, except the officials,” White said. “I started talking to the officials in the first quarter, and we knew this was going to happen. You could tell it was going to happen. So, they’ve got to get control of it. They’ve got to be better.”
Sun coach Rachid Meziane voiced his frustration with the sequence that led to multiple ejections, saying the play was a “stupid foul,” considering Indiana was up by 17 points.
As of Wednesday afternoon, neither coach had been fined for their postgame comments, the source said. The WNBA does not historically publicize news of coach and player fines.
Tension between the teams heightened throughout the game, as Sheldon was called for a flagrant foul in the third quarter after appearing to poke Caitlin Clark in the eye. It was in that sequence that Mabrey bodychecked Clark, which resulted in a technical foul in real time.
“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 … this is what happens,” White said.
Though Mabrey’s technical foul was upgraded Wednesday, crew chief Ashley Gloss said Tuesday via an official pool report that Mabrey’s contact did not rise to the level of an ejection or “meet the criteria for a flagrant foul penalty two.”
Mabrey was booed by the Fever crowd inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse throughout the remainder of the game.
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As a result of the win and a loss by the Atlanta Dream, the Fever clinched a spot in the July 1 Commissioner’s Cup championship, where they will play the Minnesota Lynx.
The Sun will play their second game in two nights Wednesday against the Phoenix Mercury. The Fever play the Golden State Valkyries on Thursday.
(Photo: Trevor Ruszkowski / Imagn Images)
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