New York versus Indiana was a battle of the giants if there ever was one, and it did not disappoint! While we were all waiting for the Ionescu vs Clark matchup, it was actually Aliyah Boston and Jonquel Jones who put on a show tonight, with both centers putting on a rebounding masterclass in the paint. The clash between the Liberty and the Fever had just about everything a fan could want–buzzer beaters, foul trouble, and controversy aplenty.
Caitlin Clark, overturning expectations, continued on with an unfortunate slump from the last game. Her shooting splits weren’t great, and the Fever superstar kept turning the ball over, crumbling under the on-ball pressure. Not only that, it seemed like CC was rushing a tad bit too much, making plays she doesn’t normally make, forcing shots that don’t make sense. And even though she hit a cinematic buzzer-beater to close the third quarter, it simply wasn’t enough!
However, Indiana is a great team, and they took the game down to the wire by hook or by crook. Boston’s 27-point and 13-rebound contribution, and Clark’s third quarter 33-foot 3-pointer helped the Fever to an eight-point lead to start the fourth. Sadly, things only went downhill from there. And what caught the eyes of the WNBA community was the highly controversial officiating that took place late in the 4th quarter, and the lack of reaction by Indiana’s head coach.
All it took was 2.9 seconds for the Liberty to steal the game from Indiana, and fans were upset at the referees! A debatable shooting foul was called on Lexie Hull against Sabrina Ionescu, which took the elite shooter to the line with 2 foul shots. But that wasn’t where the officiating blunders ended either, as Caitlin Clark was in position for a game-winner, but got a quote-unquote clean challenge from Natasha Cloud, sealing the victory for the New York Liberty.
Fans were upset beyond measure at the officiating, but some of the blame fell to Stephanie White as well. The Indiana Fever head coach caught a lot of heat for not using her challenges to try and bail out her team in the dying embers of the game. But what exactly did fans have to say? And is the backlash even justified?
Fever fans fuming at Stephanie White and the referees after Caitlin Clark and her teammate get caught in foul trouble
Social media went wild after the Liberty vs Fever game, and the officiating that decided the result. After all, there is always bound to be discourse or pushback if a game is decided by free throws, or if there’s a call that should have been contested, and in this case? It was both. First came Lexie Hull’s shooting foul, and it was immediately followed by a foiled buzzer-beater by Clark.
And while Clark said “I don’t know” about what happened on the final play, the Fever coach did not hold back. “I thought she got fouled,” White said. “I think it’s pretty egregious what’s been happening to us the last few games. A minus-31 free-throw discrepancy (over the last three games), and I might be able to understand it if we were just chucking 3s, but we’re not. We’re attacking the rim, and the disrespect right now for our team has been pretty unbelievable.”
Yet, this wasn’t enough to please the fans who were still holding onto the fact that she didn’t challenge things there and then. “Pretty sure that’s a foul. But why is Stephanie White taking challenges home with her?” Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, tweeted, referring to the Hull situation. His question was quite valid, and a sentiment that was backed up by fans aplenty on social media.
Pretty sure that’s a foul. But why is Stephanie White taking challenges home with her?
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) May 24, 2025
There were scathing comments, and there were admonishments by the fans. “Unless there is a good reason. There is no excuse to Stephanie White not challenging that foul on Lexie. Come on Steph.” One fan said on X, and another agreed. “Stephanie White dropped the ball by not challenging this.” Hull’s foul changed the game and ended up ruining what was otherwise a great night for her! The six-foot-one guard put up 15 points in 26 minutes of playing time, shooting a perfect 2-of-2 from deep. And her defense wasn’t bad either, as her on-ball pressure was enough to get quite a few stops, and even one steal during her small amount of minutes.
And then, with just 2.2 seconds remaining, Hull was let down as the foul called on her gave Liberty the decisive points. Why fans got angry though is because in the WNBA, teams are granted a second challenge if their first is successful, and Indiana had just that after a successful one earlier in the third quarter. However, White chose not to challenge the call.
“I still can’t wrap my head around why Stephanie White didn’t challenge there. Dumb,” said another fan. But why exactly is that a bad thing? Well, one user on X made the explanation seem rather simple. “Stephanie White should have challenged that, the game about to end just use the challenge.”
It’s not that simple, though. There was a problem at the end of the game. The Indiana Fever didn’t have a timeout left and a team must have a timeout to start a challenge. Indiana had used something called a “reset timeout” after Ionescu’s free throws — this lets the team move the ball forward and make player changes, but it doesn’t work like a regular timeout. That type of timeout doesn’t allow a coach to challenge a call. So, in the final moments, Coach White couldn’t challenge any important plays. Yeah, all the backlash White is facing might be unjust, after all. As one fan rightly pointed out, “Indiana didn’t have a team timeout. Just the reset timeout therefore they couldn’t challenge. The announcers didn’t even know the rules.”
Anyway, it will be interesting to see how Stephanie White and Caitlin Clark come back from this. Although the head coach is under fire for this decision, her star player arguably has it worse. Clark’s slump is a major point of concern for the Fever, and until she gets back in form, their offense will be losing a major pillar of support.
The post Calls Mount Against Indiana Fever HC As Confusion Grows in WNBA Community After Caitlin Clark & Co.’s Heartbreak appeared first on EssentiallySports.
