DiJonai Carrington was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul on Sophie Cunningham in the Indiana Fever’s 90-86 victory over the Chicago Sky on Saturday.
Cunningham was ahead of the pack for a breakaway layup in the first quarter when Carrington chased her down and swiped down with her left arm across the face and neck area, causing Cunningham to land on her backside without being able to break her fall.
Cunningham immediately hopped up and jumped in the face of Carrington, even giving a bit of a shove as she was restrained by Makayla Thompson and security as a light fracas ensued.
After the ejection, Carrington posted on social media the words “WHITE PRIVILEGE” and tagged the Fever.
Kelsey Mitchell scored 27 points to set a WNBA single-season record with her 16th straight game of 20-plus points. Caitlin Clark had 26 points and 11 assists to finish with at least 25 points, 10 assists and five 3-pointers for the eighth time in her career. The feat has been accomplished just four other times in league history.
Aliyah Boston added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Fever (20-12), and Makayla Timpson scored 10.
Natasha Cloud and reserve Rachel Banham both scored 17 for Chicago (12-20) and Kamilla Cardoso added 14 points and nine rebounds.
Olivia Miles led all scorers with 26 points and the Minnesota Lynx bounced back from their first loss in a month with a 98-87 win over the Las Vegas Aces to clinch a spot in the WNBA playoffs.
The rookie sensation scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and ended any threat of a possible Las Vegas comeback by driving the lane for a finger-roll layup to push the lead to nine with 48 seconds to play.
Miles, who also banked in a 3 from just across half court to end the first quarter, added seven assists and four rebounds as the league-best Lynx (26-7) got back in the win column after Thursday’s 89-82 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks snapped a 10-game winning streak.
Napheesa Collier scored 16 of her 22 points after half-time for Minnesota, while Natasha Howard contributed 17 points, Kayla McBride chipped in 15 points and Courtney Williams scored 13. The Lynx had just five bench points.
Minnesota’s defence made things difficult for A’ja Wilson, constantly swarming her in the post and forcing her to put up tough shots. The two-time reigning league MVP shot a season-worst 29.4 per cent (5 of 17), finishing with 16 points along with eight rebounds.
Jackie Young led the Aces (22-10) with 23 points and NaLyssa Smith had 14 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.
Fire send Storm to 11th straight loss
Bridget Carleton scored 24 points, including four 3-pointers, and the Portland Fire handed the Seattle Storm their 11th straight loss with a 100-93 victory.
Jade Melbourne had 23 points for the Storm (6-28), the first team in WNBA history to have two double-digit losing streaks in the same season.
Seattle closed to 75-72 early in the fourth quarter on Ezi Magbegor’s jumper, but Jordan Harrison’s 3-pointer extended the Fire’s lead to 82-75 with 7:26 left. Carleton’s 3-pointer pushed Portland’s lead to 88-78.
The Fire (13-19) were coming off a 97-83 win over fellow expansion team Toronto on Thursday that snapped a five-game losing streak.
