WNBA Players Kiss During Playoff Game, Earn Double Fouls

Two WNBA players who kissed during a playoff game on Thursday found out that the referee wasn’t in such an amorous mood.

The incident happened in a game between the Phoenix Mercury and Minnesota Lynx. With the Lynx headed toward a blowout victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, Diana Taurasi of the Mercury and Seimone Augustus of the Lynx got into a bit of a tie-up.

Taurasi bumped Augusts, and instead of separating the players remained tangled. Taurasi then planted a kiss on her fellow WNBA player’s cheek.

The gesture may have been lighthearted (or a bit of clever taunting), but the referee took it seriously, assessing personal fouls to each player.

Taurasi and Augustus, who have been competing against each other for the last 20 years dating back to their AAU days, made light of the incident after the game.

“We were just trying to make sweet love,” Taurasi said.

Augustus responded, “The tango dance that we had, I always say she just wanted some of my deliciousness.”

In the end the WNBA kiss didn’t do anything to affect the outcome of the game. Minnesota held onto the lead, cruising to an 85-62 victory and a 1-0 series lead.

Taurasi may have been trying to help her team overcome their butterflies about playing the Lynx. Minnesota won all six meetings with Phenoix this year, and Mercury coach Russ Pennell said his team needs to get over their mental block in playing Minnesota.

”Sometimes you kind of get something in your head that maybe isn’t true, and if you think about it long enough, you’ll think it’s true,” Pennell said. ”I want to make sure they understand that Minnesota is beatable. But we’re going to have to get out of our own way and focus on what we do. ”

Diana Taurasi and Seimone Augustus get a chance to follow up their WNBA kiss on Sunday when they play Game 2.