As Indiana’s top four hopes took a hit during their 15th loss of the season, falling 93-77 to the Washington Mystics, the Fever were surprised by a call that, to them, never happened. Indiana were troubled by the poor display on both ends of the floor, losing to a team that was below them in the standings. The Fever clearly felt hard done by, as some of the refereeing calls against them, especially Aliyah Boston’s foul in the third quarter which sparked debate over officiating consistency.
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The sequence happened early in the third quarter, with around 6:26 left on the clock, per a clip shared on X by Paddocast Sports. The refs awarded a defensive foul against Aliyah Boston for contact on Mystics’ Shakira Austin, who was attempting a layup while driving inside the paint. While Boston did get her hand up to block Austin, the call remained controversial among analysts and the Fever, who believed no contact occurred. The team decided to challenge the call.
Boston approached the on-court officials, looking visibly confused by the foul call. The officials took some time to review the play, but the foul ultimately stood. After the game, Fever head coach Stephanie White elaborated on the refs’ decision while answering a question about the foul and the explanation given to the Fever.
“They said she hit her on the arm, and from all of our angles, we didn’t see that.”
This is not the first time officiating has been criticized by the Indiana Fever camp this season. Before the start of the season, new rules regarding “freedom of movement” and player movement off the ball were introduced. This has resulted in an uptick in personal fouls by the Indiana Fever as a team, as they rank third in the league in PF per game, at 21.5, per ESPN.
While the new metrics have impacted the whole league, Indiana’s high-paced style of play means that the Fever players often find themselves isolated on plays in the transition, leading to foul trouble.
Indiana has also questioned the inconsistency in the officiating standards this season. An earlier game in the season, when the Fever faced the Phoenix Mercury, generated huge controversy. Hard contact by Alyssa Thomas on Caitlin Clark was not called on the court, but after the game it was upgraded to a flagrant foul 2. Minnesota Lynx star rookie Olivia Miles has also spoken up about this after her team fell to the New York Liberty.
“They were calling it one way at the beginning of the season, and now it’s like a free-for-all, I guess.”
It was a particularly frustrating night for Aliyah Boston, as she notched a game high of five personal fouls on the night, in a game where the Fever struggled to contain the Mystics’ offense. The Fever have struggled with their defense all season, despite being one of the top offensive teams in the league. They are still the fifth-worst-rated defense in the entire league. And the Mystics took full advantage.
Washington took the lead early on in the game, leading 34-19 by the end of the first quarter. From there, the Fever never really threatened a comeback, and the Mystics led by as many as 26 points at one point, pulling away to a 51-30 lead to close the first half.
Shakira Austin powered the Mystics with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double, keeping Washington firmly in the hunt as one of three squads sitting just one game behind Indiana with only two games left in the regular season. Kiki Irifen led the team with a 21-point, 14-rebound double-double, shooting an efficient 9-of-13 from the field.
Aside from a few officiating decisions not going their way, Indiana also registered a poor offensive display on the night. Their scoring efficiency took a deep dive, as they logged an FG% of just 37% and converted just 21% of their shots from beyond the arc.
While Caitlin Clark scored a game-high 25 points and Kelsey Mitchell added another 22 points, the duo could only make 14 of their 40 shots, including just 6-of-20 three-pointers – a far cry from their usual efficiency.
With a record of 27-15, the Fever now have their task cut out for them. They are now just a game ahead of the Mystics, at 27-14, and now face the daunting challenge of facing the league leaders, the Minnesota Lynx, in back-to-back games in their last two games of the regular season.
The Lynx would be looking to lock down the first seed, and Indiana will be hoping to secure a top-four spot to get the home-court advantage in the playoffs.