Overview
- Video replays from Wednesday showed Phoenix forward Alyssa Thomas land a knee and press a closed fist into Caitlin Clark’s neck during a loose‑ball scramble and officials did not call a foul on the play.
- The Fever announced Clark would not return to the 111-109 loss because of a back injury after a separate landing‑space sequence involving Valeriane Ayayi was reviewed but not upgraded to a flagrant.
- Head coach Stephanie White publicly called the contact “egregious and utterly disrespectful,” said she raised the plays with officials at halftime, and demanded more consistent enforcement to protect Clark.
- Clark finished with 19 points and eight assists in 20 minutes, ending her streak of six straight 20-point, five-assist games when she left with 5:15 remaining in the third quarter.
- Clark still has five technical fouls after a Monday call that sources say will not be rescinded, no league discipline has been announced for the Thomas incident, and the Fever will monitor Clark before determining her availability for upcoming games.