The Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky season opener on Saturday afternoon drew fireworks, but not for the reasons WNBA fans had hoped for.
In the third quarter of the game, Caitlin Clark clearly fouled Angel Reese across the arm as Reese was driving toward the basket, sending Reese to the floor. Reese immediately got up and seemed to want to lunge at Clark, but she was held back by Fever's Aliyah Boston as Clark walked away.
The play was reviewed, and the refs upgraded Clark's common foul to a Flagrant 1, deeming that Clark made unnecessary contact. Reese and Boston also received double technicals.
Caitlin Clark was called for a flagrant foul following this play involving Angel Reese
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 17, 2025
(via @espn) pic.twitter.com/uVI5SgErtO
Here's a closer look at the foul:
Angel was pissed https://t.co/wMYl7Kif5t pic.twitter.com/iTP2VTESH1
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) May 17, 2025
Cameras caught Clark looking visibly upset over the decision, and she appeared to want to plead her case to the refs.
Aliyah and DB came over to diffuse the situation but Caitlin said she’s fine having a nice convo with the ref lmfaoooo pic.twitter.com/cJyTAGyceO
— correlation (@nosyone4) May 17, 2025
Clark later told ESPN's Holly Rowe that she committed a take foul and there was "nothing malicious" about the play during a sideline interview in between the third and fourth quarters.
The Fever currently lead the Sky by double-digits in the fourth and are on track to win their first game of the 2025 season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Caitlin Clark Was Heated After Receiving Flagrant for Hard Foul on Angel Reese.