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Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark and Seattle Storm guard Victoria Vivians exchanged words during the Storm’s 103-88 victory on Thursday. Tensions were high and their interaction led to a double technical, but USC women’s college basketball star JuJu Watkins liked the passion she saw from Clark.
“A dawg,” Watkins commented on social media.
The incident happened halfway through Thursday’s second quarter, when Clark was visibly fired up after hitting a long 3-pointer over Vivians. There was a stare down and a slight bump, which led to officials blowing their whistles and Clark’s teammate Aliyah Boston stepping in to separate them.
Here is a video of the incident:
Thursday marked Clark’s third technical foul through her first nine games in the league. The WNBA allows up to seven technical fouls in one season before a player is suspended for one game.
“Being competitive is who I am, sort of through my whole career,” Clark said postgame when asked about translating her competitiveness from college to the WNBA. “I think at times there are ways I can probably channel it a little better, but that’s just basketball at the end of the day. That’s never going to change. I’m never going to lose that. I feel like I’m getting hammered.”
Head coach Christie Sides chimed in and said she likes Clark’s attitude. “She is a competitor, I love her fire,” the coach said. “We just gotta get better with the officiating. We got to get some of those calls.”
Clark finished the day with 20 points going 6 for 17 from the field. She also added three rebounds, nine assists and one block, along with seven turnovers. With the loss, the Fever drop to 1-8. They will be back on the court on Saturday when they host the Chicago Sky, which will be the first time Clark faces fellow rookies Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso as a pro.