Seattle Storm Coach Tells The Truth About Heated Exchange With Christie Sides

The Indiana Fever hosted the Seattle Storm on Sunday, looking to secure their second straight win after the WNBA's break in the season for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Indiana was able to defeat the Storm in dominant fashion, sending them home with a 92-75 loss.

During the fourth quarter of the game, things got heated on the sideline between Fever coach Christie Sides and Storm coach Noelle Quinn.

While it seemed like both coaches were going up to each other to shake hands, with seconds left in the fourth quarter, Quinn was actually approaching Sides to confront the Indiana coach.

The play-by-play crew mentioned that they believed it was due to Sides leaving her starters in the game when the match was already decided. Indiana was up big for much of the fourth quarter, so there's the belief that Quinn took offense to Sides leaving in her starters once Seattle emptied their bench.

Following the game, Sides and Quinn shook hands, and the dispute was settled. Quinn spoke with the media to address the situation in the postgame press conference.

She mentioned that she respects Sides, and the two were just talking about sportsmanship.

"I respect Christie," Quinn said. "Been in this league for a long time... We were just having a spirited conversation about gamesmanship. That's it."

While Sides has yet to comment on the situation, it seems there was a simple miscommunication since the Fever coach was seen apologizing to the Storm's coaching staff after the game.

Aside from the heated exchange late in the game, Sunday featured an incredible showing for the Fever.

Fever rookie Caitlin Clark finished the game with 23 points, nine assists, and five rebounds. Indiana also had a couple of incredible performances from Kelsey Micthell, who scored a team-high 27 points, and Lexie Hull, who notched 22 points, shooting 6-of-7 from three-point range.

The Fever will look to keep their foot on the gas after a dominant win against a talented team like the Storm. They have another test against a team above .500 in the Minnesota Lynx on Aug. 24 at 8 p.m. ET.

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