WNBA Notebook: Hard foul on Caitlin Clark just one example of bad officiating trend

Three weeks of WNBA action for the 2024 season are in the books.

The Connecticut Sun are undefeated while the Washington Mystics have yet to win. The Indiana Fever aren't thrilled to sit at 2-9 and have played more games than anyone, while the Minnesota Lynx have won four of their last five.

But beyond the box scores, the storylines include intensity on the court, with many rookies seeming to get more than their fair share of "welcome-to-the-league" moments.

Here is a look at some of the top topics in the WNBA.

How many welcomes to the league does one rookie need?

It seems almost too easy to start the discussion with Fever star Caitlin Clark, who is already averaging 15.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game in her first WNBA season, leading all rookies in multiple categories.

But this is not about Clark's performance on the court, or the Fever's current record. It is about how the Iowa product especially, and multiple rookies this season, have seen an increase in hard, and sometimes even flagrant, fouls that are simply deemed their "welcome-to-the-league" moment.

The latest incident saw Chicago's Chennedy Carter foul Clark off-ball, appearing to throw her hip and shoulder into Clark, whose back was turned on Saturday. A day after the game, the WNBA upgraded the foul to a Flagrant 1, which the league defines as “unnecessary and/or excessive contact committed by a player against an opponent.”

While Carter refused to answer any questions about Clark, coach Teresa Weatherspoon also cut off questions about the incident. Fellow rookie Angel Reese, who has had her share of run-ins with Clark over the years, seemed to celebrate the foul, and after the game was fined $1,000 for not making herself available to media.

Fever general manager Lin Dunn suggested that there is a “difference between tough defence and unnecessary — targeting actions!” and that the league needs to "clean up" on these calls.

In 2021 Carter was suspended by the Atlanta Dream for apparently trying to fight teammate Courtney Williams, and her foul on Clark certainly seemed intentional.

Clark has seen a bulk of hard fouls in her short time in the WNBA -- she took another hard hit in the head by Seattle Storm centre Ezi Magbegor -- but it stretches beyond just her, as Alyssa Thomas committed a hard foul on Reese when the Sun and Sky faced off and got ejected with a Flagrant 2.

The WNBA is a physical league, and rookies will certainly have to adjust to the new level of competition, but these situations also showcase how WNBA referees should be more willing to hand out flagrant fouls. These calls aren't to "protect" Clark or any rookie for that matter, but to simply call out the difference between a hard play and an intentional shot at an unsuspecting player.

The Sun stay red-hot

Over the last couple of seasons, the Sun have shown they are a title contender, making the semifinals for four consecutive years from 2019-2022, before falling in the second round last season to New York.

The Sun are a combination of talent, basketball intelligence and chemistry, as most of their core roster has stayed the same over the last couple of seasons. Even after losing Jonquel Jones to the New York Liberty, DeWanna Bonner, Alyssa Thomas, Brionna Jones and DiJonai Carrington have all been part of the Sun for the last four seasons, while additions like Tyasha Harris have strengthened the team.

This off-season the Sun added Rachel Banham, who returns to Connecticut after previously playing four seasons from 2016-2019, as well as Tiffany Mitchell. They have only made team that much deeper in terms of talent.

Connecticut is the seventh WNBA team in history to win its first eight games of a season, and the other six all advanced to the WNBA Finals. The Sun had two convincing double-digit wins against Phoenix and Atlanta in the past week, but also secured the win in a mere two-point victory over Dallas.

Bonner is averaging 19 points per game, Jones is averaging 13.1 points and five rebounds per game, and the triple-double machine that is Thomas is nearing just that, averaging 13.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, nine assists and 1.5 steals per game. Carrington continues to grow with the Sun, as the former second-round pick is averaging 12.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game while having the best season of her WNBA career.

With five players averaging double-digit scoring so far this season so far, and outscoring their opponents by 10.2 points on average, the Sun have looked very dangerous. They face a stiff test Saturday against Jones and the Liberty.

The Storm are finding winning form again

The Seattle Storm missed the playoffs last season, the first time they had fallen short of post-season play since 2015 -- the year before they drafted Breanna Stewart. It was a rare down year for the Storm, who have won four titles, including two in three years between 2018 and 2020.

The Storm, who have a new look with what head coach Noelle Quinn has called their "core four", lost three of their first four games to start the season, but have bounced back to win four in a row.

One of the newest additions, Skylar Diggins-Smith, tallied 39 points and 12 assists while shooting 57.7 per cent in victories over the Sky and Fever, and has put up at least 15 points and shot 50 per cent or better in three consecutive games.

Ezi Magbegor had a combined 15 blocked shots in Seattle's last four games and is leading the WNBA with three blocks per game.

Jewell Loyd continues to be one of the league's best scorers as she is averaging 19.8 points per game, dropping 54 points combined in both appearances against the Fever and has scored in double digits every game this season.

Nneka Ogwumike is playing on a team other than the Los Angeles Sparks for the first time in her career, and is currently averaging a career-high 2.2 steals per game on top of adding 18.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game for the Storm.

Their next three games are going to be tests, playing against the Phoenix Mercury, Las Aces and Lynx, but the Storm seem to be finding their chemistry and look like a contender.

What has to change for the Washington Mystics?

It's not time to panic just yet for Washington. The Lynx did go 0-6 to start last season and ended up making the playoffs, and there are still 32 more games to go in this year's WNBA season.

Yes the 0-8 Mystics should be slightly worried that they are winless, but only once have they been completely dominated in a game this season, a 32-point loss to Seattle on May 25.

Washington lost by just six to Atlanta and by 11 to New York, cutting the Liberty's lead to just three points with under three minutes to play before New York pulled away.

Ariel Atkins and Shakira Austin are both averaging double digits in scoring, while the latter has a team-leading 6.8 rebounds per game.

While the team has matched its worst start in franchise history, the Mystics have an opportunity to pick up a win this week as they face both the Sky and Fever at home, teams that both have losing records.