Caitlin Clark fined after picking up 6th technical foul, two away from suspension

Just one game after Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark recorded the WNBA’s first-ever 45-point, 10-assist double-double, she was assessed her sixth technical foul of the season. She was fined as a result. The three-time WNBA All-Star is now just two technical fouls away from being assessed a one-game suspension. The technical came after Clark opposed a no-call on a screen set by New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones. She will now be forced to pay a $1,000 fine. In the midst of her third season out of Iowa, Clark is averaging 20.9 points, 7.8 assists and 4.0 rebounds. Indiana trailed New York at the half, but put together a dominant third quarter to take the lead going into the fourth. Clark was absolutely unconscious in Indiana’s 110-107 win over the Seattle Storm Friday night, making 11 of 18 shots (6-of-10 from three-point range) shots from the field. She also made 17 of 19 free throws, adding up to a career-high 45 points. Along with the unreal scoring output, Clark dished out 10 assists and notched four steals. Following the performance, she claimed that she knew it would be a special night. “Some nights, like, you know you have it – even before the ball tips,” Clark said. “I felt like it was going to be one of those for me. I feel like you just have to believe you’re going to have those type of nights, and you have to visualize having those types of nights. And I feel like that’s what I did.” “I still feel like I can play better. It’s one of the hardest things, coming back from injury and being out of the groove and having time off. You just have to kind of continue to believe in yourself and believe in the work you put in. This is great, but we have another really difficult test tomorrow, so got to get ready for that.” Caitlin Clark makes more WNBA history, just ready for next game Indiana has the league’s sixth best record and are now tied for the top of the Eastern Conference with the Atlanta Dream. Following a year where Clark, Sophie Cunningham and others were hurt and the Fever still made a run to the conference finals, having them all back could make the difference in winning a championship. While she’s making history, Clark’s been the subject of a lot of discourse around the league and abroad. NBA commissioner Adam Silver called Clark a “political football” of sorts amid the dialogue around the WNBA. Clark has dealt with multiple tough fouls, including a play involving Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas when she made contact with Clark’s neck, which was not called a foul in real time. The WNBA later suspended Thomas for a game and it was upgraded to a flagrant foul. But Clark has garnered extra attention since entering the league as the No. 1 pick following a decorated career at Iowa. That high profile allowed her to build a connection with Silver, who lamented the conversation shifting to something beyond the basketball court. “I have come to know Caitlin really well,” Silver said at CNBC and Boardroom’s Game Plan Summit, via the AP. “She’s an incredible player and also an incredible person. And she wants to focus on being the best player she can. She has become a bit of a political football in this country, and I think it’s incredibly unfair to her. “I don’t think that issue is ultimately about officiating. It’s become political ping-pong with her. And she’s a young woman who’s trying to improve her game.” On3’s Nick Kosko contributed to this article.