Brittney Griner and Rickea Jackson were ejected late in the second quarter of the Phoenix Mercury's 85-81 win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday night. After a confrontation, both players were assessed two technical fouls, which results in an automatic ejection.
With less than 20 seconds to play before the break, Mercury guard Celeste Taylor was at the free throw line. She missed the first attempt, then made the second. As the latter went up, Jackson and Li Yueru were attempting to box out Griner, who swung her arm up and appeared to catch the rookie in the face.
Jackson took exception to the physicality and shared her feelings as the two squared up. As Griner walked toward Jackson, the Sparks forward pushed her arm away, and the Mercury center responded with a swipe that caught air. All told, there wasn't much in the exchange, which was quickly broken up by coaches and teammates, but the refs decided not to take any chances.
Both players were sent to the showers early, though Jackson briefly made a reappearance, which got a big cheer from the crowd.
That was the first career ejection for Jackson, who has been one of the league's best rookies this season. The No. 4 overall pick entered Tuesday averaging 13.4 points per game on 46.4% shooting, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists. She is third among all rookies in scoring, fourth in field goal percentage and sixth in rebounding.
It's unclear at this time if there will be any further punishment for either player.
Both teams will conclude the regular season on Thursday night, with the Mercury facing the Seattle Storm and the Sparks taking on the Minnesota Lynx. That will be the end of the road for the Sparks, who are in last place and have been eliminated from playoff contention. As for the Mercury, they are locked in as the No. 7 seed and will take on the Lynx in the first round of the playoffs.