WNBA Boilers: Fever Coach Stephanie White Calls For League to Improve Officiating

Indiana defeated Connecticut 88-71, but that was only part of the storyline. After the game, White called on the league to work on its officiating so that dust-ups don't escalate into something more serious.

“Players are faster, they're better, they're bigger, they're stronger,” White said, per Chloe Peterson of the Indianapolis Star. “They're as good as they've ever been there, as athletic as they've ever been. The game is fast. Now, things are happening quickly. Everybody's getting better, except the officials. So we have to find a way to remedy it. I mean, you've heard every coach talk about it, so I don't know what the answer is.”

There were some physical moments throughout Tuesday night's game, paired with plenty of chatter back-and-forth. That's the nature of basketball, especially at the professional level. But what White doesn't want to see is the competitiveness turn into physical altercations.

“I think it was pretty obvious that stuff was brewing, right?” White said. “When the officials don't get control of the ballgame, when they allow that stuff to happen, and it's been happening all season long … you've got competitive women who are the best in the world at what they do, and when you allow them to play physical, and you allow these things to happen, they're going to compete, and they're going to have their teammates backs. It's exactly what you expect out of fierce competition."