Washington Mystics guard Natasha Cloud was furious at WNBA officials after Sunday’s loss against the Los Angeles Sparks.
The Mystics fought back from a 13-point deficit, trailing 79-76 with 4.4 seconds remaining. Cloud worked her way up the court before taking a near-half court heave at the buzzer.
Washington appeared to catch a break. Officials motioned for shooting foul on Sparks guard Jordin Canada. It’s clear Canada made contact with Cloud at the release of the shot.
Cloud thought she was set to receive three free throws with a chance to tie the game. However, after a brief review, officials waved off the foul and ruled the game over. Officials ruled time expired prior to Canada’s foul.
Cloud was incensed, yelling barbs at the officials as they hastily walked off the court at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in D.C.
After the game, Cloud tweeted, “Fine me. Our officials are trash.”
Many who follow the WNBA will be the first to agree at times league officiating has been questionable. However, it appears they made the right call at the conclusion of Sunday’s game between the Sparks and Mystics.
The red light indicating time expired lit up at both the backboard and the scorer’s table before Cloud released her shot and contact was made.
Yes, the TV clock read 0.2 seconds. Unfortunately, the TV’s score bug is not official and the clock is close but at times off from the official time.
The sequence was close, very close. But in the end, the Mystics came up short. The loss drops Washington to a 20-14 record and keeps them one-half game behind the Seattle Storm for fourth place in the league standings.
The Mystics have two more games to make up ground in standings. Seattle owns the tie-breaker, thus Washington has to finish one game ahead to have home court advantage in a best-of-three first-round playoff series.
