It was sudden and precise. It came as a surprise to anyone watching the game, or anyone that had watched the freshman perform and handle her first season of intense scrutiny with grace and dignity.

All that came to a crashing end when Baylor star center Brittany Griner took a swing that connected to the face of Texas Tech's Jordan Barncastle. Some will argue she was provoked, that she had been pushed, pulled and poked all season. Watching the video, there is no doubt that Barncastle was overly physical with Griner. But Griner's reaction was over the top and will cause her definitely short-term and probably long-term ramifications.

In the short-term I would think a suspension for the remining regular season game vs. Texas, and most likely the Big 12 tournament. I don't believe they will have her miss NCAA tournament games. Long-term, she has to deal with the different scrutiny she will now face.

Twitter has replaced the TV news for immediacy of commentary. Here are some of the comments from just a few WNBA stars.

Janel McCarville, who has set some of the hardest screens ever: "I've even pushed/bodied up on folks, but have never wanted to hit ( swing ) someone in any shape!!"

Nakia Sanford, Washington's big center felt Griner was provoked: "whoa, woke up to the griner punch.smh. I think both girls should be punished, but griner more for the punch. that was crazy. That was not a "tangle" push replay, she SLUNG HER. Griner is wrong, but ol girl aint innocent. She got her square in face,no doubt,the eject was rght,but evrybdy tlkin like ol grl ddnt do nthng.she jumpd bad and slung griner."

Swin Cash was understanding: "I thinks she is young and will learn from it... But I see she's getting a lot of negative press now."

Perhaps the most interesting comments were from Plenette Pierson of the Tulsa Shock. Pierson has been involved in several well known altercations, including one with Candace Parker, and also has dealt with severe shoulder trauma from battles inside the paint.

Pierson would like to reach out to Brittany Griner: "Every1 sitting here talking abt the Griner incident! It was an unnecessary act on her part but it was also an excessive foul

Im sure that every1 on here that's talking abt this has had an episode like that one! The only difference btwn u and Griner is she's a star

Media attention surrounding her waiting for something to happen to blow it up! She's a young adult, she will learn from her mistakes

I had to learn from mine and if I could get in touch with her I would hope that she could learn from my mistakes as well as hers"

I then asked Plenette about short term and long term effects:

"no doubt she should b punished! Some type of suspension with counseling! They need to let me b her counselor! I've been thru it!

its gonna b a huge affect on her career! Its gonna follow her jus like my incidents still follow me! But she still can rise above

I followed that with the question, did Plenette think Griner would get cut some slack due to her skills/dunking ability:

"I don't think they will cut her slack! At this point it has nuthing to do with her ability! Gotta make a point to every1"

I forwarded her tweets to Baylor Coach Kim Mulkey, and Plenette made a direct request:

"I need all my followers 2 come together and help me get in touch w Brittney Griner!!! I have experience and wisdom that I wanna share w her!"

Whatever the result, one can only hope that Ms. Griner, a young athlete with a blossoming career and an incredible future, can learn from her mistake and go forward again with grace and dignity.