Caitlin Clark Cusses At Ref, Gets Hit With Costly Technical Foul In Loss

Caitlin Clark's WNBA growing pains continued Monday night ... this time, a profane outburst at a ref cost her team a technical foul -- which hurt the Fever in yet another loss.

Clark hurled an F-bomb an official's way late in the fourth quarter of Indiana's tilt with Connecticut at Gainbridge Fieldhouse ... after she believed she was illegally hit on an offensive possession just moments prior.

She ran up to the referee and screamed, "That's a f***ing foul!" ... before she went to regroup with her teammates.

The game official acted swiftly, T-ing the rookie up as soon as the cuss word left her mouth. The Sun went on to miss the technical free throw, although they did get the rebound off the miss, and tied the game up. They then went on to win the game, 88-84.

Clark's night was up and down even outside of the regrettable moment with the ref in the fourth ... as earlier in the evening, she rolled her ankle so badly, it required a trip to the locker room.

She did return and finished with 17 points ... although turnovers still plagued her, as she recorded five more in the defeat.

After the contest -- which dropped Indiana to 0-4 on the season -- Clark lamented the heated interaction with the ref, saying she "can't get that."

As for the injury, she didn't seem too concerned about any lingering effects of it ... but she did tell reporters it impacted her night for sure.