- Joined
- Dec 8, 2014
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I totally agree that officiating in the women's game is absolutely deplorable and it needs to be over hauled. What's worse is there are times when the officials don't even seem to know the rules.
In Game 4, the back court violation occurred during the last 24 seconds of the game, but it was not called. While there is plenty of video available, this was deemed to not be the type of play that can be reviewed. Had the officials been paying attention and counting, the Sparks would have gotten the ball back down by 2 points with 24 seconds, which is plenty time to tie the game up. The final outcome may have been the same or may not have been, but we'll never know.
In Game 5, this was a reviewable play to check the shot clock, but in the last 2 minutes of the game, the official must review this immediately. It's similar to the NFL, where you must review it prior to any further action or play taking place. Had that call been made immediately, per the rules of the last 2 minutes of a game, the basket would have been waved off and the game would have been tied with 1:12 left on the clock. That's over a minute, with a tie game at that point, so there's no way it can be said that this call changed the outcome of the game. Alot can happen in over a minute.
The mishap with only 24 seconds left was actually worse, because the only way for LA to get the ball back was for them to foul. Now a 2 point lead is a 4 point lead with only seconds remaining and not over a minute.
Regardless, officiating stinks. The refs need to catch up to the game. It's past time for the WNBA and NCAA to take a serious look at how the officiating is hurting the product.
Correction. The game would not have been tied. Lynx would have been up 2 with the ball.
