WNBA upgrades Marina Mabrey technical foul from Caitlin Clark shove
WNBA upgrades Marina Mabrey technical foul from Caitlin Clark shove
In the aftermath of Tuesday night's chippy Indiana Fever win over the Connecticut Sun, the WNBA has issued upgrades to multiple fouls given throughout the game, highlighted by Marina Mabrey's technical foul from her shove of Caitlin Clark.
According to ESPN's Alexa Philippou, the league has upgraded Sun center Marina Mabrey's technical foul she received after she shoved Caitlin Clark to the court following the former Hawkeye getting poked in the eye by guard Jacy Sheldon.
The retroactive upgrade elevates the penalty from a simple technical foul to a Flagrant 2 penalty, which also carries a standard fine in accordance with the league's rulebook.
Additionally, the league office fined Indiana guard Sophie Cunningham separately for her hard foul late in the game involving Sheldon and Sun guard Lindsay Allen.
In total, the league determined that no players involved in any of the altercations from Tuesday night's game will receive suspensions.
Indiana's next game will see them travel to Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday to take on Kate Martin and the Golden State Valkyries for the first time. That contest will begin at 9 p.m. CT and be broadcast on Prime Video.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
How Pacers' counterintuitive strategy shut down Thunder's stars in NBA Finals
It's never too late to make a change in life — or at least in the most important moment of one's professional life. The Indiana Pacers are all about chaos. They've made this run to the 2025 NBA Finals by amplifying games to a blurring speed their opponents can't control. That includes a strategy that's rare in the NBA: A full-court press designed to wear out opposing ballhandlers. Advertisement But their Game 6 triumph over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday was, in one important way, a grand reveal that they are more than a one-note team. How did the Pacers solve the seemingly unsolvable problem of defending Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams? They pulled the chair on the entire Thunder offense. After several games of full-court pressure, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle took some heat off the Pacers' approach. Instead of pushing forward, Indiana's defenders dropped back and waited for the Thunder stars to come to them before bringing their pressure. As Caitlin Cooper of Basketball, She Wrote noted, the Pacers' pick-up points on Thunder ballhandlers were much more conservative than they have been all series. Average pick-up distance for the Pacers on defense in Games 1-5: 56.9 feet Average pick-up distance for the Pacers on defense in Game 6: 41.4 feet Big difference — Caitlin Cooper (@C2_Cooper) June 20, 2025 The Thunder weren't ready for it. As the Pacers' coverages evolved throughout the game, their primary objective was to keep Thunder ballhandlers from getting downhill. That required slowing things down on defense to provide a chance for more precision and balance. Indiana loosened the grip on its fastball, putting some more bend on its cutter that Gilgeous-Alexander couldn't figure out. The result was eight turnovers for the MVP. The Pacers' problem with full-court pressure coming into Thursday was that it invited Thunder players — particularly Isaiah Hartenstein — to set step-up ball screens in the backcourt. Indiana couldn't control the vast space underneath those picks, so the Thunder stars had tons of room to rub off their screeners and get wherever they wanted. Indiana's adjustment was to wait until those ballhandlers, particularly Gilgeous-Alexander, crossed the half-court line before springing their trap. On the first play of the game, the Pacers stacked off-ball defenders high into the gaps, steering the MVP into a tight pocket against the sideline. The way Andrew Nembhard suddenly flipped around to pick up Gilgeous-Alexander caught Hartenstein by surprise. Even that play was higher up the floor than Indiana operated for much of the rest of the game. Indiana's guards set their pick-up points in a more typical area closer to the 3-point line, which made most of their pick-and-roll coverages more effective. When Williams or other guards screened for Gilgeous-Alexander, Indiana was able to switch more comfortably because there wasn't an acre of space behind them. There was less pressure to contain the ball at the point of attack when switching, since the ballhandler would run into help quickly if they got past Indiana's primary defender. Advertisement This forced the Thunder into more isolation plays, making it easier for the other Pacers defenders to aggressively clog the paint. Gilgeous-Alexander lost steam as the game went on, with his possessions looking more listless. That helped Aaron Nesmith and T.J. McConnell pick up some steals by double-teaming Gilgeous-Alexander from behind. The prior two games, both Thunder wins, made it clear that while the Thunder stars weren't looking to take pull-up 3s off high screens, they gained momentum from driving into space without a body in front of them. Even when the Pacers' bigs crept above the screen level to double-team Gilgeous-Alexander, he still had space to dribble around those defenders and pick up speed. He is a master at staying in motion and then pushing into gaps to break through coverage. In Game 6, the Pacers forced the MVP to do everything over a squared-up defender and lots of help. Remember Pascal Siakam sitting in the gap on the first play of the game that resulted in a turnover? He was now able to essentially be a secondary dropper on Gilgeous-Alexander pick-and-rolls as part of Carlisle's bet to sacrifice some 3-point coverage to clog the star's driving lanes. If the Pacers kept pressing full court, Gilgeous-Alexander would have come off those high ball screens with more paths to speed past any gapped defenders. But pushing back the pick-up points made it easier for Siakam to plant in driving lanes behind Myles Turner when the center was guarding up to the screen level. The strategy against Williams followed the same spirit, though it differed slightly. For one, the Pacers started ducking under high screens for Williams, allowing Nesmith to catch up from below the action while the screener's defender pushed Williams' drives sideways. Advertisement But Carlisle finally accepted he'd need to put bigs on Williams if necessary. I wrote Thursday morning that the Pacers should start mixing in more pick-and-roll switches involving Siakam, Obi Toppin and Turner, even if it left them on an island guarding Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams in isolation. Siakam has been the Pacers' best help defender in this series, and having him guard either of the two Thunder stars takes him away from that role. Now, the Pacers have moved away from lineups with Siakam at center, giving them another big on the floor to take on the lane-clogging role if he needs to switch at the point of attack. In Game 6, Siakam was able to stay in front of Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander, then contest high to be an effective antidote. His length threw off Gilgeous-Alexander's tempo. Most defenders have to be within reaching distance of the Thunder guard to create leverage, but Siakam is long enough to sit a full dribble back. He can close his hips to shuffle backwards when Gilgeous-Alexander hits his trigger step into a drive and use his wingspan to contest any potential stepback jumper. That makes it easier for help defenders to sit deeper into the gaps and get Gilgeous-Alexander to pick up his dribble early. In contrast, there were many possessions in Games 1-5 where Nembhard and Nesmith stayed in front of the Thunder's drivers, but lacked the length to contest mid-paint stepbacks. The Pacers won't be able to catch the Thunder off guard two games in a row. But Oklahoma City's shooting, which has been mediocre in this series, will have to improve in a high-pressure situation to make the Pacers pay for dropping back into the gaps. The Thunder may need to rely even more on their defense, which failed to stop a hobbled Tyrese Haliburton from taking control of Game 6. Game plans can only do so much on the biggest stage in basketball. It's unlikely the Pacers will be able to avoid crunch time again, as the Thunder will have plenty of counters to the Pacers' new approach. But at least it got the Pacers to a Game 7, where a battle of wills will determine the next NBA champion. Zach Harper runs through everything you need to know heading into Sunday's Game 7.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Wisconsin basketball sets date for home matchup against rival Marquette
The 2025 edition of the I-94 Rivalry between the Wisconsin Badgers and Marquette Golden Eagles in Madison, Wisconsin will be played on Dec. 6. This will be Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard's eleventh game against Marquette and head coach Shaka Smart's fifth against the Badgers. Wisconsin has won four out of its last six matchups against rival Marquette, including three straight from 2021 to 2023. The Golden Eagles beat the Badgers last season 88-74 in Fiserv Forum, during which both teams were ranked in the top-15 of the AP Poll. Wisconsin's non-conference schedule is all but finalized at this point of the summer, with marquee matchups against Marquette at home, BYU in Salt Lake City, Villanova in Milwaukee and Providence in San Diego. Head coach Greg Gard has mentioned numerous times how important a strong non-conference schedule can be for resume building, as well as playing teams similar in competition to teams the Badgers are likely to see in March. Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Wisconsin files lawsuit against Miami for tampering during Xavier Lucas recruitment
The Xavier Lucas-Wisconsin saga is far from over. Early Friday, Yahoo's Ross Dellenger reported that the University of Wisconsin-Madison has filed a lawsuit against the University of Miami over tampering allegations regarding the recruitment of the former Badgers defensive back. After learning about Wisconsin's lawsuit against the University of Miami, the Big Ten released their own statement on the matter: "The Big Ten Conference is aware of the litigation recently filed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison against the University of Miami and is supportive of UW-Madison's position. As alleged, the University of Miami knowingly ignored contractual obligations and disregarded the principle of competitive equity that is fundamental to collegiate athletics. The Big Ten Conference believes that the University of Miami's actions are irreconcilable with a sustainable college sports framework and is supportive of UW-Madison's efforts to preserve." With the latest house settlement regarding revenue sharing, it became clear that lawsuits like these would become more frequent. While college student-athletes making money off their name, image and likeness was long in the works, the rollout of the new structure was flawed. That new legislation, along with the new transfer portal rules, have shifted college sports in massive ways. It seems as if there has been little done to organize a clear structure to address those issues. Wisconsin's position in this lawsuit is extremely important for the future of revenue sharing and will set a precedent for all deals made with student athletes. Wisconsin is looking not only to sue Miami for financial damages but also deeming UM's recruitment tactics as "wrongful.' UW-Madison also alleges that Miami knowingly sent a coach and important alumnus to the Florida home of Xavier Lucas in December, where they offered "financial terms more lucrative than those included in the contracts" that he had already signed with the Badgers. This is one of the first instances of a university going after another university with credible allegations of tampering and could set a new standard for how situations like these are handled in the college sports world. Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
