PHOENIX — Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts was ejected from Game 4 of the WNBA Finals on Friday at Mortgage Market Center.
Tibbetts found himself on the wrong end of the referee whistle when he was arguing a foul call on Monique Akoa Makani. Akoa Makani was called for fouling Las Vegas Aces guard Dana Evans. Tibbets got into referee Gina Cross’ face, arguing the call at the 2:41 mark of the third quarter.
Cross issued a double technical foul on Tibbetts, and he was ejected. He did not immediately leave the court, seemingly confused by what had just happened. Eventually, he walked off the court and up the tunnel to exit the game.
The officials were asked postgame what triggered the two technical fouls.
‘After a foul was called on Makani, coach Tibbetts came onto the floor and yelled, ‘That’s f—ing terrible,’’ crew chief Roy Gulbeyan said. ‘After the first technical was assessed, coach Tibbetts stepped in closer, aggressively, to the calling official and again yelled, ‘That’s f—ing terrible.’ At that point, a second technical was assessed, and he was ejected.’
The Mercury rallied to close a 20-point deficit to six points after Tibbetts was tossed but could not get any closer. Phoenix lost to the Las Vegas Aces, 97-86, in Game 4 and were swept out of the WNBA Finals.
‘I can’t remember what I said and I probably don’t need to repeat it,’ Tibbetts said postgame. ‘The inconsistencies night to night, yeah, in a closeout game for them to shoot 35 free throws, it’s not ideal. I thought early in the playoffs, they let teams play a little bit more. But tonight that was not the case.’
Later in the fourth quarter, Mercury center DeWanna Bonner was called for a technical foul when she was stripped of the ball trying to corral an offensive rebound. Kahleah Copper was also assessed a technical when she fouled out with less than two minutes remaining in the game.
Tibbetts said he had a wish list for officiating in the WNBA.
‘Just consistency across the board,’ Tibbetts said. ‘Again, I came from a league (the NBA) that I thought there was real direction and growth in continuity as staffs. There’s change in this league. The product is continuing to get better, there’s more eyes on it. I think the officiating has to grow with the league.’