NEW YORK \u2014 Cheryl Reeve has seen a lot of improvements in officiating this year, and it has helped the WNBA have record offensive numbers through the first half of the season.<\/p>\n
There are areas that still need to be worked on, but it will take more than 20 games for everything to be cleaned up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen great improvements on the very things that were broken,\u201d the Minnesota Lynx coach said. \u201cThere was a level of impeding players and trying to cut off a screen. We don\u2019t want the unnecessary physicality.\u201d<\/p>\n
The league put together a task force, which Reeve is on, in the offseason to help clean up some of that physicality. The main point of emphasis was to help players\u2019 freedom of movement.<\/p>\n
Despite some early hiccups, it has led to more offense as teams are averaging about 86 points per game \u2014 the highest ever. They are shooting nearly 45% from the field \u2014 also the best in league history.<\/p>\n
Roughly 4\u00bd more fouls per game have been called this season, with 75% of them non-shooting fouls.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s fair for our coaches and players to be able to say we\u2019re happy and we think positive things are taking place, but still I disagree with the calls that are affecting our team tonight,\u201d Monty McCutchen, the head of WNBA officials, told The Associated Press. \u201cI want coaches to remain advocates for their teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have gotten positive feedback that we\u2019re on the right track. We\u2019ll continue to work through specifics when we fail that task and we\u2019ll continue to check in with the officiating task force to make sure that we\u2019re aligned with the expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n
By no means are things perfect. Coaches and players have complained of inconsistencies between officiating crews. What might be called a foul in one half might not be deemed a foul at another point in the game. Obvious fouls are getting missed too.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s never going to be perfect, but we\u2019re trending in the right direction,\u201d Reeve said. \u201cWe\u2019ve put resources into this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reeve recalled a play that she asked to be reviewed during a game against the Dallas Wings. The officials looked at the play and upgraded it to a flagrant foul.<\/p>\n