The Seattle Storm lost a heartbreaker on Thursday night, falling in overtime to the Minnesota Lynx, 99-97, despite a career-high 41 points from Jewell Loyd. A short time after the final buzzer, Loyd stepped to the podium for her postgame press conference and let out some of her frustration on a common target: the referees.
Asked about how the Storm were able to get some of the Lynx in foul trouble — both Diamond Miller and Lindsay Allen finished with five fouls — Loyd took the opportunity to expound on the topic. Her comments are worth considering in full:
“I mean a foul is a foul. I’m actually surprised they actually called it. They miss a lot.
“To me it’s more about player safety than just calling a foul. I got hit in the head three times. Even the last possession before I turned the ball over, I mean I got hit in the head and the arm. The refs say, ‘I don’t see it.’ So what are you watching? That’s your job is to make sure that players are protected and to call a foul a foul.
“This is not the first time we’ve talked about trying to get contact and fouls. They’re fouling me. It’s not a shock that they got vie fouls. They’re fouls. I’m frustrated as a player because I’ve seen it across the league. I…
