Cameras Caught Aliyah Boston’s Smart Move After Caitlin Clark Got Upset With Refs

Kristen Wong | Aug 29, 2024

INDIANAPOLIS STAR-USA TODAY Sports

Indiana Fever star Aliyah Boston’s quick thinking in Wednesday’s win over the Connecticut Sun likely prevented teammate Caitlin Clark from receiving another technical foul this season.

In the third quarter of the Fever’s 84–80 victory, Clark hit the deck after running into Sun forward Alyssa Thomas’s hard screen. Immediately after falling to the floor, Clark looked visibly upset and started to appeal to the referees for a foul and potentially more. 

Thomas was whistled for an offensive foul, but Clark may have wanted the play to be reviewed for a possible flagrant. As Clark got up and started to angrily walk toward the refs, Boston grabbed Clark by the waist and pulled her back while trying to calm her down.

another angle. Caitlin was ready to run at the ref but Aliyah held her back and told her to calm down. Kelsey looks confused lmao and Temi runs in to block off view. Operation no techs tonight complete pic.twitter.com/WxrLtdKSJy

— correlation (@nosyone4) August 29, 2024

The Fever rookie was able to cool off, and gameplay resumed shortly after.

Had it not been for Boston’s alert thinking and smart move, Clark could have been slapped with her sixth technical of the WNBA season. Players will receive an automatic one-game suspension after accumulating seven technical fouls in a season.

Clark finished the game with 19 points, five rebounds, five assists and—thanks to Boston—no technical fouls. The 22-year-old guard also wrote her name into history yet again by setting the WNBA’s new single-season rookie record for most three-pointers (86).