WNBA star Brittney Griner had to be restrained after throwing wild punches
The look on Kristine Anigwe’s face said it all as she realised she’d picked a fight with the wrong woman. But Brittney Griner wanted blood.
American Sports
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WNBA star Brittney Griner and five other players were ejected after a fight broke out midway through the fourth quarter of Dallas Wings’ 80-77 win over Phoenix Mercury on Sunday.
With 6:23 left in the final period, Griner and Wings forward Kristine Anigwe got tangled up in the lane and a scuffle ensued.
The Mercury’s 206cm centre had to be restrained by an official at midcourt after she chased Anigwe up the court.
After about a 10-minute review, the officials ejected Griner, Diana Taurasi and Briann January from Phoenix.
Taurasi was inactive for the game, but was tossed for leaving the bench area. Anigwe, Kayla Thornton and Kaela Davis were ejected for Dallas.
“Today I went on the court to make sure my teammate didn’t get jumped,” Taurasi said. “She got punched in the face and then someone ran on her back and threw punches at her face. I would do that 100 times out of 100 times.”
Phoenix were celebrating bobblehead night for Griner, who finished the game with 13 points, including her 12th dunk of the regular season. She didn’t comment after the game.
Earlier in the game, Griner and Kaela Davis got in one another's faces but made up before the referees got involved. Something Anigwe did or said seems to have escalated the tensions already boiling here in Phoenix.
— Brendon Kleen (@BrendonKleen14) August 11, 2019
“Unfortunate about the fight,” Wings coach Brian Agler said. “Didn’t help either team, but you know those things are going to happen.”
Phoenix was leading 71-68 before the game was stopped following the fight, but lost all momentum as Dallas closed out the game on a 12-6 run to capture the win and snap an 18-game road losing streak.
“It’s a good road win. We’ve been close several times just couldn’t get over the hump,” Agler said. “Tonight we made some plays down the stretch, hit some shots, made some good defensive plays.”
The result and potential fallout from the fight could have ramifications on the final standings heading into the playoffs.
But for now all anyone is talking about is the wild scenes that ensued midway through the final quarter.
Some of the action leading to 6 ejections in #mercury vs Dallas game pic.twitter.com/knrxo0ZaDe
— jeffmetcalfe (@jeffmetcalfe) August 11, 2019
That girl didnât want Brittney Grinerâs smoke. She took off running. ðð
— Yea...IDK ð¤·ð½ââï¸ (@NCbae79) August 11, 2019
pic.twitter.com/S8SRAIaSam
Brittney Griner had Kristine Anigwe SHOOKETH! ððð #WNBA pic.twitter.com/JILR4kikg3
— Da Kid Gowie (@DaKidGowie) August 11, 2019
Originally published as WNBA star Brittney Griner had to be restrained after throwing wild punches