No Caitlin Clark? No problem. The Indiana Fever left the Las Vegas Aces stunned with a 10-point upset, even after the Aces looked poised to steamroll. A’ja Wilson and Co. came into this game on the back of 3 consecutive wins, led by the reigning MVP’s 95 points and 38 rebounds during that stretch. So, the momentum? All theirs, on paper at least. But Aliyah Boston and the Fever weren’t backing down. The win helped the Fever snap out of its 2-game losing skid. Still, as has been the case all season, victory didn’t come without controversy.
Officiating blunders in Indiana Fever games? At this point, it’s practically a tradition. And tonight was no different. Just add another one to the long list of questionable calls that have gone against the Fever this season. This time, it was A’ja Wilson and Aliyah Boston caught in the middle of the drama. And keeping league-wide officiating issues aside, these two have actually been making their own saga this season.
It was a rough night for Aliyah Boston, who scored just 13 points on 6-18 shooting. But things went from bad to worse when she went up for a shot against Wilson. A’ja appeared to hold her from behind, a clear foul in most cases, but instead of blowing the whistle, the refs called it a jump ball. As you would expect, the fans weren’t having it! And neither was Boston, who was absolutely furious with the officials. Now, Boston might have had the last laugh in the end, winning the game 80-70, but the fans weren’t going to let anyone forget the refs’ mistake.
Fans react to Refs making a wrong call against Aliyah Boston
“This was called a jump ball. Seriously??? AB is absolutely fed up of this B-,” one fan said about the whole incident, which left everyone inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse confused. Obviously, fans were going to scrutinize the call. Because let’s be real, officiating has been a major issue this season (fingers crossed we don’t get fined for saying that). Just a few days ago, Tina Charles straight up shoved Aliyah Boston to the ground and got hit with only a common foul. Natasha Cloud’s hard contact on Caitlin Clark earlier in the season? Nothing given! Marina Mabrey and Jacy Sheldon’s scuffle with Caitlin Clark? No ejection!
So, it is understandable why fans are saying, “The call was laughable. So goes the refs of the WNBA. Second guessing, calling late fouls, jump balls after controversial calls, and on and on. This league will never be thought of as serious till they get rid of the refs. Increase their pay scale and bring in quality officials!!” Fair enough. After all, what happens when you raise your voice against it?
This was called a jump ball. Seriously???
AB is absolutely fed up of this BS pic.twitter.com/qQB75raH7s
— AK (@Sudharsan_AK10) July 24, 2025
Fines! Coach White went on record saying she was fined for calling the officials out. Sophie Cunningham got fined for making a TikTok calling out the refs. And it’s not just the Fever who suffer from such calls; other teams are in the mix as well. Coach Nakase, for example, came out and said she was begging for consistency from the refs after a close loss to the Mercury earlier this month. Becky Hammon has expressed her frustrations against the refs countless times this season already. Naturally, fans coming out and saying “Pathetic!” against the officials is reasonable.
Beyond that, there were also fans who were quick to point out that A’ja Wilson gets calls like this in her favor. “Wilson gets away with these fouls all the time… Especially against the Fever,” they said. And to be fair, they weren’t wrong. Remember the July 4 game between the Aces and the Fever? While Indiana completely dominated, there was one nearly identical moment, this time with Wilson and Lexie Hull instead of Boston. A’ja came from behind, made contact trying to steal the ball, and instead of a foul, the officials once again called a jump ball. Deja vu, anyone?
That said, given how often Wilson and Boston go head-to-head, we probably should’ve seen this coming – especially with this being the final regular-season clash between the Aces and the Fever. We have had enough flashes before, with Boston even getting frustrated with all the back-and-forth and Wilson accusing the Fever star of flopping (as the lip readers say). Understandably, in the next matchup, it seemed like Boston’s eyes were on Wilson only as she dialed up the physicality against her from the get-go.
Well, she has really been holding her own in the paint. However, as one fan thinks, the refs have been trying to bring her down. “Honestly what other starting big averages 2 freethrows a game in the WNBA? She gets zero calls,” they said. And look, Boston had a bad game as mentioned above, but she also went to the free throw line a grand total of zero times in 35 minutes. For a big, that’s unusual. When you’re taking hits in the paint, you’d expect a few whistles your way… right? And that reminds you of Kelsey Plum…right?
“I don’t understand how that’s six free throws playing 40 minutes and touching the paint almost every play. It’s absurd, it’s absurd,” Plum said after a loss to the Valkyries after shooting a total of six free-throws. So, clearly, the officiating is not consistent and despite several pleas, nothing is improving. What is your take? Do you also find yourself wondering what the refs are calling games for?
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