Fever coach says refs should have seen Caitlin Clark foul in real time

Coach Stephanie White had her first comments on Friday, June 26, about Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas being assessed a Flagrant-2 foul upon review of a play from the Indiana Fever's loss on Wednesday, June 24.

Midway through the second quarter of the game, Fever guard Caitlin Clark went to the floor and lost control of the ball. During a scramble for possession, Thomas landed on Clark, pushing her fist into Clark’s throat as she tried to get up. There was no foul called during the game for the incident.

The WNBA suspended Thomas for one game on Thursday and upgraded the non-call to a Flagrant 2. Thomas was also fined $1,000.

"I think the biggest thing for me is that we have to see it in real time," White said. "Yes, I'm thankful that the league went back and used their ability to go back and review it, but these are things that we can't miss in real time. We've got to be better.

"I feel like all the officials are watching the ball and nobody's watching the play. You have a player that's down on the ground, certainly some things are going to happen, so I was very disappointed they didn't see that in real time."

Clark exited the Fever's 111-109 loss to the Mercury on Wednesday with 5:15 remaining in the third quarter because of an ongoing back issue. She will not play June 27, against the Los Angeles Sparks because of the injury.

"She's OK. She's gonna be out on Saturday, but she's doing alright," White said Friday. "There's currently no timetable for her return."

"No indication (of how long she'll be out). Obviously, it's a good time because we have all week next week. So, we'll take this opportunity just to get her treatment, get her healthy, get her back on the floor and see what happens."

After Saturday's matchup against the Sparks, Indiana does not play again until Sunday, July 5, giving Clark more than a week of rest.