Caitlin Clark was glad her coach had her back.
The Fever rookie was visibly frustrated after she and Indiana head coach Christie Sides were both hit with technicals in a 103-88 blowout loss to the Storm on Thursday night.
“I feel like I’m getting hammered, I don’t know,” Clark said in a postgame press conference when a reporter asked about her and Seattle guard Victoria Vivians chirping at each other in the second quarter.
“I appreciate Christie getting a tech too. I don’t know.”
With four minutes left before the half, and Indiana trailing 34-25, Clark hit a three-pointer with Vivians guarding her — and the pair each received a technical foul for jawing in each other’s faces while running back down the court.
Then, Sides received a tech with 2:28 left in the third quarter when she argued that Seattle’s Sami Whitcomb appeared to foul Clark multiple times while on offense.
Sides was seen screaming at the referee before an assistant coach pulled her away while the Fever trailed the Storm, 71-52.
“That’s a foul,” announcer Debbie Antonelli said on the Amazon Prime broadcast.
“We’ve just got to get better with the officiating. We’ve got to get some of those calls,” Sides said after the Fever’s third consecutive loss. “I feel like they’re getting some calls that’s happening on our end as well, and I just don’t feel like we’re getting some of those.”
Clark finished with 20 points, 6-of-17 shooting, three rebounds and nine assists.
The Iowa product — who was selected No. 1 overall by the Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft — explained that she won’t change her competitive nature on the court after Indiana fell to 1-8.
“Yeah, two competitive people,” Clark said of her run-in with Vivians. “And they hit us with the double tech and that’s about it.”
Seattle led Indiana 47-41 at halftime before opening the third quarter on a 12-2 run.
“The third quarter was when we lost the game,” Clark said. “I just thought our defensive rotations were bad. … It’s not really about our offense. It was our defense. You’re not going to win a basketball game giving up 103.”
Clark has been vocal with officials at the pro level, where she’s received a number of welcome-to-the-league moments.
Earlier this month she was hit with a tech after telling a referee, “It’s a f–king foul” in an 88-84 loss to the Connecticut Sun.
Indiana hosts Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky (3-3) on Saturday.