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The Phoenix Mercury looked like the better team in the first 10 minutes, but emotions got the better of the Mercury, and the Indiana Fever came out with an 86-77 win.
Kahleah Copper led with 20 points, but fouled out with 3:29 left in the fourth. Alyssa Thomas had 19 points, nine assists and five rebounds.
Phoenix smothered the Fever in the first quarter, posting a 19-0 response to Lexie Hull’s opening 3-pointer. It wasn’t until Kelsey Mitchell’s 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left that the Fever made their next field goal after missing 16 consecutive shots.
However, the 19-6 lead didn’t hold once star Caitlin Clark got hot in the second quarter, draining five of her nine looks and scoring 15 points. Even with a slow start in the first quarter, Clark finished with 24 points and nine assists.
The Mercury surrendered 65 points in the second and third quarters, while only scoring 33.
Frustrations boiled over for both sides in the second half, but especially at the start of the fourth quarter.
DeWanna Bonner, who briefly played with the Fever in 2025, and Clark were tangled up during a play and caused other players to get involved, including Thomas, Indiana’s Myisha Hines-Allen and former Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham. Bonner had to be restrained by Valeriane Ayayi during the confrontation with Cunningham.
“We've got a competitive group, a veteran group, they've been around this for a long time, they're not afraid of the smoke," coach Nate Tibbetts told reporters. "We're going to compete at a high level, and yeah, just keep — just stay with it, keep playing.”
All five players received technicals, and Hines-Allen was ejected on the following play after some words were exchanged with Thomas.
Both teams have a history of dustups, but Tibbetts didn't confirm if he saw rising tensions between the teams throughout the game.
"I got a lot coming at me, you know. I don't always see," Tibbetts said. "I mean, sometimes I can feel it and see it. Again, competitive teams going at it. Stuff like that happens.”
Both teams won’t have much time to cool off before facing each other again on Wednesday, June 24, in Indianapolis.
Reach the reporter or send tips for stories at [email protected], as well as @jennarortiz on X.
Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don't miss a thing.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tensions flare between DeWanna Bonner, Caitlin Clark
Continue reading...
Kahleah Copper led with 20 points, but fouled out with 3:29 left in the fourth. Alyssa Thomas had 19 points, nine assists and five rebounds.
Phoenix smothered the Fever in the first quarter, posting a 19-0 response to Lexie Hull’s opening 3-pointer. It wasn’t until Kelsey Mitchell’s 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left that the Fever made their next field goal after missing 16 consecutive shots.
However, the 19-6 lead didn’t hold once star Caitlin Clark got hot in the second quarter, draining five of her nine looks and scoring 15 points. Even with a slow start in the first quarter, Clark finished with 24 points and nine assists.
The Mercury surrendered 65 points in the second and third quarters, while only scoring 33.
Frustrations boiled over for both sides in the second half, but especially at the start of the fourth quarter.
DeWanna Bonner, who briefly played with the Fever in 2025, and Clark were tangled up during a play and caused other players to get involved, including Thomas, Indiana’s Myisha Hines-Allen and former Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham. Bonner had to be restrained by Valeriane Ayayi during the confrontation with Cunningham.
“We've got a competitive group, a veteran group, they've been around this for a long time, they're not afraid of the smoke," coach Nate Tibbetts told reporters. "We're going to compete at a high level, and yeah, just keep — just stay with it, keep playing.”
All five players received technicals, and Hines-Allen was ejected on the following play after some words were exchanged with Thomas.
Both teams have a history of dustups, but Tibbetts didn't confirm if he saw rising tensions between the teams throughout the game.
"I got a lot coming at me, you know. I don't always see," Tibbetts said. "I mean, sometimes I can feel it and see it. Again, competitive teams going at it. Stuff like that happens.”
Both teams won’t have much time to cool off before facing each other again on Wednesday, June 24, in Indianapolis.
Reach the reporter or send tips for stories at [email protected], as well as @jennarortiz on X.
Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don't miss a thing.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tensions flare between DeWanna Bonner, Caitlin Clark
Continue reading...
