WNBA overturns Caitlin Clark suspension ahead of Fever-Liberty clash
Indiana Fever guard returns to lineup for marquee matchup against New York Liberty after league determines bump from Chicago Sky’s Natasha Cloud caused incident.
The WNBA has rescinded a one-game suspension for Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, clearing her to participate in Tuesday’s marquee matchup against the New York Liberty. The decision follows a league review that determined the technical foul originally assessed against Clark was the result of momentum from a collision with Chicago Sky player Natasha Cloud.
Clark had been set to miss the game after accumulating her eighth technical foul of the season during a recent contest against Chicago. The initial ruling by the officiating crew stated that Clark had intentionally made contact with an official out of bounds along the baseline. However, the league overturned this assessment less than two hours after the game concluded, citing the external contact from Cloud as the primary cause of the incident.
The Fever, who recently ended a two-game losing streak with a 90-86 victory over Chicago, will now face a New York Liberty side on a four-game winning streak. The Liberty secured their latest win with a 111-71 victory over the Las Vegas Aces, a result complicated by the Aces resting their star trio of A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, and Jackie Young for their second game in less than 24 hours.
Offensively, both teams are demonstrating high-scoring capabilities. Indiana leads the league with an average of 95.9 points per game, while New York has scored at least 92 points in eight consecutive games, marking the longest such streak in WNBA history. The Liberty’s bench also contributed significantly in their recent win, scoring 58 points, the third-highest total for reserves in franchise history.
Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell set a new WNBA single-season record with her 16th consecutive game scoring at least 20 points, adding 27 points in the win over Chicago. Mitchell and Clark have combined for 516 points over the past 10 games, establishing a league record for any teammate duo over that span. The Liberty remain short-handed, missing injured players Leonie Fiebich and Satou Sabally, as they prepare for the high-octane offensive battle.
