Caitlin Clark has turned from the hunter to the hunted. Typically, the point guard would use her step-back threes, unbelievable passes, and geared speed to fool her defenders. However, against the Washington Mystics tonight, her offense unraveled.

While she exploded for ten points in the opening quarter itself, she was quickly knee-deep in foul troubles — three in the first half itself. Head coach Stephanie White kept her on the sidelines for most of the second quarter to save her, but it only helped so much. And while the team won the nail-biter that literally came down to the final four seconds, they weren’t the happiest about the foul troubles, nor are the fans.

“Caitlin Clark is TOUGH to guard in the open court. 🔥,” the WNBA on NBC channel captioned their post, showing how the point guard operates despite the pressure.

Their video showed an instance from tonight’s game with seven minutes remaining in the first quarter. Clark was driving to the rim on a fast break when Mystics’ Michaela Onyenwere followed her and seemed to grab the point guard’s left hand. Yet, as she moved into the paint, she made a throw with only her right hand available. She momentarily looked at the ref, holding her hand showing what had happened. But once it was clear that no whistle would go to the forward, Clark simply continued playing.

According to the WNBA’s rule, a defender cannot obstruct a player with the ball by physically holding them. However, no call was made there. This wasn’t the only time that a foul wasn’t called for Clark. Yet, when the positions were reversed, the point guard got a quick whistle. She didn’t care much about it, though, as she explained what was going through her mind while riding the pine in the second quarter.

“No player ever wants to be in foul trouble. I think it’s like a mental challenge more than anything, especially when I started the first quarter really well,” Clark said in her post-win presser. “I got in a little bit of foul trouble, but thought my teammates did a really great job in the second quarter.

“I think you just keep battling and keep persevering.”

Clark shot a three in the third quarter and landed on Cassandre Prosper’s feet and was immediately called for a foul. Not giving space to land for a shooting player is another ground for calling a flagrant foul for reckless closeout. However, when Clark and the Fever wanted one, the refs reviewed the play, and it was ruled a common foul.

On the other end of the court, Clark was called for a foul on Sonia Citron. It was immediately challenged as well. Despite it looking like minimal contact, it was not overturned by the officials. This shows how much she has to fight to force a foul, but she gets the whistles easily. At this point, it is also becoming a trend.

Overall, even though the whistles were almost equal, 26-23 with the Fever leading, the free-throw distribution wasn’t. Over the 40 minutes tonight, the Mytics received 24 free throw opportunities while the Fever only went to the charity line 14 times. Meanwhile, Clark’s foul troubles are only stacking up.

Her personal fouls are 3.9 average this year, up from 2.7 in 2025 and 2.8 as a rookie. She already has 35 fouls to her name in only nine games played. But she has already settled the debate:

“I’m probably guarding a lot more on-ball than I have in the past few years, just put into more action,” she said after she picked up five fouls in a loss against the New York Liberty earlier this week. “You have a higher percentage of getting foul calls on you. You know, sometimes I’m doing my best, keeping my hands out.”

Yet, the series of events had Indiana Fever fans outraged. 

Indiana Fever Fans Call Out Hypocrisy After Broadcast Points Out Uncalled Foul On Caitlin Clark

With four seconds left and the possession with the Fever, while the Mystics led by 75-76, White drew one of the best plays. Sophie Cunnigham sent the ball inbound across the court to Clark nonchalantly standing on the logo with no one to defend her. With the clock winding down, she pulled up the Logo-3 that mattered the most with only 1.2 seconds left in the game to grab their second Commissioner’s Cup win.

But everyone can’t help thinking that if the fouls were called correctly, the Fever wouldn’t be in this deep of a situation.

“Soooo…she can be held on the way to the basket and not get a foul call but she crowds the space of a player on the other end and gets a foul call? @WNBA ….tell your refs to make it less obvious,” wrote a fan.

This wouldn’t be the first time that the fans have voiced their concerns. Over the last two years, especially, the Fever camp, as well as the fans, have stood against the referees for an imbalanced calling. This year, though, the Indiana squad is keeping the complaints to themselves.

“Sure does make that little soft hand touch on Citron that they called a foul look bad when compared to letting the Mystics hold her arm all the way to the basket,” commented another.

Caitlin Clark, on the other hand, has previously refused to blame referees for her troubles. She has more off-the-ball responsibilities this year and has to improve her defensive skills. Naturally, fouls usually follow defense. So, while Clark has protested plenty of calls on the court, she has mostly praised the officials in her pressers. Even Stephanie White, who protested and was even fined last year, called for team defense to cover for Clark. The fans don’t see it that way, though.

“This is the year of focusing “freedoms of movement” but not for CC…” wrote a fan.

The league has implemented stricter rules on the “freedom of movement” like the NBA. It has led to more fouls being called in the league, with the average fouls going from 17.5 per game to 21.5. For Clark, her fouls have gone from 2.7 to 3.9 per game. On the other hand, she has drawn 6.7 fouls, up from 4.5. So, Clark is getting called for more fouls because of the changes. But the fans can’t help but notice some fouls still left uncalled. 

“Caitlin just gave up an open layup because she didn’t want to foul…Citron missed the open layup, then 3 seconds later the refs called a phantom foul on CC…”

Even the broadcasters noticed that the referees called a foul after Citron missed the layup. Clark’s defense is being affected because of her fouls. If they continue to stack, Clark’s defense will turn into a liability. It would also reduce her confidence. She is already not following up with her player deep into the paint to avoid getting a whistle.

“gotta be f***** kidding me this is as bad and reckless a closeout as you’ll see and the refs refused to upgrade it to a flagrant,” another fan wrote.

The league can still upgrade the foul after the game, but it should have been called on the floor. Regardless, Clark controlled her fouling after the second quarter as she finished with three fouls for the first time in five games. It is a positive sign, as Clark was impactful for the 78-76 win. She had the game winner from 30 feet, — her first buzzer beater to win a game — along with 19 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds.