Caitlin Clark’s first taste of the WNBA playoffs was quite similar to her regular season debut for the Indiana Fever, as they both started with a loss to the Connecticut Sun.
The Fever are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2016 but will have a lot to do by Wednesday if they are to leave a mark.
Clark didn’t enjoy a positive night on the court as she was poked in the eye less than two minutes after tipoff, with Sun guard DiJonai Carrington poking her in the eye. Carrington openly mocked the rookie in a previous matchup, suggesting she flopped. She later took to social media to joke about it, much to the disgust of Fever fans.
You can see the incident in the clip below:
There was no foul called on the play. Clark went to the bench for a brief moment after getting hit in the eye but didn’t leave the game because of it.
Fans didn’t think the hit was inadvertent.
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“If Dijonai hadn’t spouted nastiness towards Fever fans and CC all season, I’d say accidental. But her track record with CC leads me to believe it was intentional,” one wrote.
“She pointed her fingers almost straight down. That s**t was intentional,” another said.
Also Read: Everyone Is Calling Out The WNBA For Totally Disrespecting Caitlin Clark With Their Playoff Graphic
Caitlin Clark Refused To Blame Carrington’s Poke For Her Shooting Slump
Clark would go on to have a poor night, shooting just 23.5 percent from the field to score 11 points, adding eight assists and four rebounds. However, she told reporters she didn’t think it affected her.
“Obviously, she got me pretty good in the eye,” she said, per the New York Post. “I don’t think it affected me. I got good shots, they didn’t go down. It’s a tough time for that to happen. Had three wide open in first half that I usually make. It didn’t feel good when it happened but I don’t think it affected me.”
The two sides are scheduled to play their second game of the series this Wednesday, with the third set for Friday.
