Marina Mabrey shoves Caitlin Clark, Jacy Sheldon given flagrant foul in chippy Fever vs. Sun sequence

Daniel Mader

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Marina Mabrey shoves Caitlin Clark, Jacy Sheldon given flagrant foul in chippy Fever vs. Sun sequence image

(Trevor Ruszkowski)

Caitlin Clark found herself in yet another heated exchange on the court Tuesday night.

With her back-and-forths with Angel Reese and Rhyne Howard already making headlines early in the WNBA season, this time around, Clark got into an exchange with a few Connecticut Sun players.

After a foul by Jacy Sheldon on Clark, the two got wrapped up, then Marina Mabrey pushed Clark to the floor as tempers flared multiple times between the two teams. The Fever went on to claim an 88-71 win.

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Here's a look at the heated sequence involving Clark, Sheldon Mabrey in Tuesday's Fever vs. Sun matchup.

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Caitlin Clark-Marina Mabrey shove

Indiana had built a double-digit lead in Tuesday's matchup, which marked Clark's second game since returning from an injury. In the third quarter, Clark was on the floor after posting 12 points in the first half.

After attempting to dribble out of some defense by Sheldon, Clark took a hand to the face, resulting in whistles being blown. But the physicality did not end there.

As Clark turned around to look at Sheldon, squinting her eyes after being hit in the facial area, Sun players Tina Charles and Mabrey approached the Fever star at the same time. During the dead ball, Mabrey quickly extended her arms, pushing Clark to the floor when she wasn't looking.

At the same time, Lexie Hull got in the face of Sheldon, defending Clark after the hard foul.

Following a review, Sheldon was given a Flagrant 1 for her swipe at Clark's face, while Charles, Clark, and Mabrey all received technical fouls. Two of those offset, allowing Clark to step to the line for one technical free-throw and two more shots for Sheldon's flagrant, making all three free-throws.

While this was the more heated interaction, it wasn't the first exchange between Clark and Sheldon on Tuesday. Earlier in the game, the two guards were seen trading words before Clark gave her a light push away.

Later in the game, things got heated once again. Clark wasn't involved in this one, but Sophie Cunningham committed a hard foul on Sheldon in the fourth quarter, bringing her to the floor. That resulted in more pushing and shoving from both teams. 

Cunningham was given a Flagrant 2, Sheldon got another technical and Lindsay Allen received a technical. All three were ejected.

While she didn't speak with the media, Cunningham did take to social media to apparently make light of the incident, posting a photo of herself shrugging during Fever media day.

As the Fever closed out a win, Clark had some more words, chirping back-and-forth with Sheldon before running around and hyping up the home crowd, not long after hitting another three over Sheldon. 

After the game, Fever head coach Stephanie White had a lot to say about the officiating in the game, saying it was "pretty obvious that stuff was brewing when the officials don't get control of the ball game."

"It's been happening all season long. ... It's not just this game," White said. "When you allow them to play physical, and you allow these things to happen, they're going to compete. And they're going to have their teammates' backs. It's exactly what you expect out of fierce competition. ... [The officials] gotta be better."

Daniel Mader

Daniel Mader is a Content Producer for The Sporting News. He joined SN in 2024 as an editorial intern following graduation from Penn State University. He has previously written for Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports, the Centre Daily Times, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Daily Collegian and LancasterOnline. Daniel grew up in Lancaster, Penn., with a love for baseball that’ll never fade, but could also talk basketball or football for days.