The Indiana Fever and Toronto Tempo game has been unbelievably close, but one moment added a heated edge. With Marina Mabrey already having a reputation for playing physical against the Indiana Fever, officials wasted no time stepping in before the situation could escalate any further.
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Early in the third quarter, Caitlin Clark‘s teammate and Fever star Kelsey Mitchell suddenly got into it with Mabrey, who was picking her up on defense and playing extremely physical, pushing, pointing, and jawing at her. Referees and teammates quickly surrounded the two to separate them, and both were given technical fouls, as reported by ESPNW, posting the moment to Instagram.
The double technical meant there were consequences for both sides. Notably, for Mitchell, this marked only her second tech of the season, which means she would have to take a $500 fine. Meanwhile, Marina Mabrey logged her fifth technical of the season, which means that apart from a $1,000 fine, she will also receive a warning letter from the WNBA as she nears the limit of eight fouls, which would cause her to serve a one-game suspension.
When it comes to the game itself, both players led their teams in scoring, but it didn’t come easily for the pair. Mabrey especially struggled, scoring 22 points on just 7-21 shooting, including just 5-14 from three, but added a steal and a block.
Kelsey Mitchell, on the other hand, was the standout player from the game. She scored 29 points on an incredible 11-for-16 shooting. It also included a stretch in the first quarter where she had 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting to put Indiana up 33-23. This game also marked Mitchell’s 20th straight game with 20 or more points, tying A’ja Wilson for the longest such streak in WNBA history.
Mabrey entered the Fever game having played the best season of her career since being drafted in 2019. After the Tempo picked her up in the expansion draft, she has emerged as the team’s leading scorer and offensive engine on the perimeter with 20.8 points per game. She has proven herself as one of the best volume shooters from three, shooting 8.4 attempts a game while hitting 38.6% of them.
The latest confrontation between Mabrey and the Fever carries weight because just last season, the Tempo guard was involved in a high-profile on-court incident involving Caitlin Clark. Back on June 17, 2025, when she played for the Connecticut Sun, Marina Mabrey shoved Clark to the floor during an altercation that saw multiple ejections and was called for a technical before the WNBA upgraded it to a Flagrant 2.
Tonight, unfortunately, late in the fourth quarter, Mitchell also ended up having to exit the game early, as reported by Scott Agness on X, due to an unspecified injury and didn’t return. Missing Mitchell for any amount of time would be disastrous for the Fever, especially with their upcoming stretch of games, when they face the Dallas Wings and the New York Liberty on August 20 and 22, respectively.
However, with a win despite Marina Mabrey’s best efforts against the Tempo, the Fever has some room for error when it comes to their closing stretch of the season.