Coach Tyler Marsh ejected from Sun game and demands more accountability from officials

Tyler Marsh had had enough. With the Sky trailing the Sun by 15 in the second quarter, Sky center Elizabeth Williams got wrapped up by Sun forward Aaliyah Edwards — but there was no call.

Marsh stormed the official and was immediately ejected. He had to be restrained by a team of security along with Angel Reese. After the game the official admitted that the crew missed the call on Edwards.

“In live play we did not see the illegal contact, but when we came back and looked at it post game, there was contact that should have been called,” he said.

Marsh has been beating the drum lately about how his team plays through the paint and yet ranks near the bottom of the league in free throw attempts. The insinuation is that his team is not getting enough calls.

“It’s been egregious all year,” he said after the game.

He also said there needs to be more accountability on the officials.

“Today would have been another game that went by where we get calls admitting mistakes and nobody has to answer for them,” Marsh said. “But our players continually have to answer when they don’t play well, and our coaches around the league have to continuously answer when they make decisions that don’t go their way.”

The Sky did get to the line more than usual against the Sun, shooting 26 free throws. However they made only 15 of them and ultimately fell 94-84.

But not without a fight.

The Sky cut a 20-point deficit to bring it within four in the fourth quarter, led by Kia Nurse’s season-high 19 points. But they couldn’t close the gap, with the Sun’s Marina Mabrey, Bria Hartley and Tina Charles all pouring in 20 points or more.

The last time these two teams played in Connecticut, three players were ejected including Ariel Atkins and Rebecca Allen. Marsh said after that game that unchecked physicality from the officials leads to escalating incidents.