Caitlin Clark Rips Referee Technical Foul Decision During Iowa Game
The Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team found itself in a fascinating spot before the 2024-25 NCAA season.
They were fresh off two consecutive trips to the national championship game, and ultimately fell short of being crowned champions in both. However, both of these runner-up finishes were largely because superstar guard Caitlin Clark (and her partner in crime, Kate Martin) were on the team, which made the Hawkeyes one of the country's most talented squads.
Then, Clark and Martin both went to the WNBA in the 2024 draft, forcing the Hawkeyes to forge a new identity without these legendary pieces of the program. What's more, longtime head coach Lisa Bluder retired at around the same time as Clark and Martin left, handing the team over to her former assistant, Jan Jensen.
While Iowa played well in Jansen's first season (they made it to the second round of the 2025 NCAA tournament), many felt that this team's true potential would be uncovered in the 2025-26 campaign, given the significant changes the team faced last season. And the Hawkeyes have been great to this point, earning a No. 11 ranking in the most recent AP Top 25 rankings after starting the year 7-0.
Caitlin Clark Calls Out Questionable Referee Decision in Iowa Game
While Caitlin Clark is no longer on the Hawkeyes' roster, she surely still follows the team and watches their games whenever possible. She certainly was tuning in when Iowa faced Fairfield on November 30, which was shown by a strong reaction she made to one questionable referee decision.
At one point in the second quarter, sophomore Hawkeyes guard Taylor Stremlow blocked a Fairfield shot. As soon as she did so, she briefly flexed in celebration while looking at the opposing player she'd blocked before beginning to run back down the court.
One of the game's referees called a technical foul on Stremlow for this, which raised a lot of eyebrows.
Taylor Stremlow with the block and one of the softest ref tech calls you'll see pic.twitter.com/FIYQP7RFmG
— Heavens! (@HeavensFX) November 30, 2025
Clark made it clear that she did not agree with this referee's decision, as she made an X post right after it happened that read, "No way they just gave stremlow a tech for that🤣🤣🤣 refs have to let the girls show emotion".
No way they just gave stremlow a tech for that🤣🤣🤣 refs have to let the girls show emotion
— Caitlin Clark (@CaitlinClark22) November 30, 2025
Clark is known for being one of women's basketball's most passionate and fiery players, which often comes out when she's interacting with referees (both when competing and when spectating on the sidelines or in the stands). And she was clearly irked about Stremlow not getting to show any passion after this strong defensive play.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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