Caitlin Clark had one of her best performances of the season on Wednesday when she put up 27 points and 11 assists on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, including five 3-pointers, in the Indiana Fever's dominant 123-88 win over the Connecticut Sun.
Clark also picked up her seventh technical foul, which brings her into a tie with Angel Reese for the most techs in the league, and puts her one technical away from a suspension.
Late in the third quarter, Clark got into it with Saniya Rivers after Olivia Nelson-Ododa was called for a foul on Clark. As the two jawed back and forth, Clark told Rivers to check the scoreboard. Nothing escalated, but the officials hit Clark and Rivers with double technicals.
"She said she was locking me up, so I said, 'scoreboard,' and the ref didn't like that," Clark said. "I'm never gonna back down... That fire is what makes me, me. But also knowing my team needs me and finding a good balance of that. But I don't think I'm gonna be playing with that in the back of my head."
Caitlin Clark and Saniya Rivers each get a technical foul after Clark tells Rivers to check the scoreboard.pic.twitter.com/YA7nfPRabj
— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) July 23, 2026
Under WNBA rules, a player or coach is automatically suspended without pay for one game upon receiving an eighth technical foul during the regular season. The previous limit was seven technicals, but the league increased it to eight last season with the jump to a 44-game schedule. For every two additional technical fouls received, the player or coach will be automatically suspended for an additional game.
Most technical fouls in 2026
| Player | Team | Technicals |
|---|---|---|
Caitlin Clark | Fever | 7 |
Angel Reese | 7 | |
6 | ||
4 | ||
4 | ||
Mercury | 4 |
Clark came close to being suspended during her rookie season, when she received six technicals, but was nowhere near the limit last season when she was limited to 13 games due to an array of injuries. Amid what has been a frustrating season at times, Clark has already set a new career-high in technicals.
With 17 games remaining, Clark is likely to be hit with the first suspension of her career at some point this season.
Amid a roller coaster third season, Clark has routinely hit out at the officials, both during and after games. Back on June 22, after a win over the Phoenix Mercury, Clark called her fifth technical "ridiculous," and joked that "we should all just go on the calendar now and pick a game that I'm going to be suspended for if I'm gonna get technicals for clapping."
On Monday, after picking up her sixth technical during the Fever's win over the New York Liberty on July 18, Clark was asked if she would change her approach. Her response was short and to the point: "No," she said. When asked Wednesday if a suspension is now inevitable, Clark joked that you "gotta ask the Magic 8 ball."
Clark and the Fever have now won three games in a row and seven of their last nine to improve to 17-10 and enter the All-Star break on a high. They currently sit in fifth place and are right in the mix for a top-four seed.
