Brittney Griner and Rikea Jackson were ejected late in the second quarter of the Phoenix Mercurys’ 85-81 win over the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday night. Following the collision, both players were assessed two technical fouls, which resulted in automatic ejections.
With just under 20 seconds left in the game, Mercury guard Celeste Taylor was at the free throw line. She missed her first attempt and made her second. As the latter went up, Jackson and Lee Yueloo tried to box Griner out, but Griner swung her arm up and appeared to hit the rookie in the face.
Jackson protested the physical attack and made her feelings known when the two confronted each other. As Griner walked toward Jackson, the Sparks forward shoved her arm away, and the Mercury center responded with a bouncing swipe into the air. In the end, the exchange turned out to be nothing serious, but the referee decided not to take any chances, even though coaches and teammates quickly stepped in to break it up.
Both players were quickly sent to the showers, but Jackson re-emerged briefly to huge cheers from the crowd.
It was the first career ejection for Jackson, who has been one of the league’s best rookies this season. The No. 4 overall pick entered Tuesday’s game averaging 13.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists on 46.4 percent shooting. She is third among rookies in scoring, fourth in field goal percentage and sixth in rebounds.
It is unclear at this time whether further punishment will be imposed on either player.
Both teams finish their regular season on Thursday night, with the Mercury facing the Seattle Storm and the Sparks facing the Minnesota Lynx. It will be the Sparks’ final game after finishing last and missing the playoffs, while the Mercury is the seventh seed and will face the Lynx in the first round of the playoffs.