Caitlin Clark had a rough go of it in her playoff debut -- scoring just 11 points in the Indiana Fever's 93-69 blowout loss to the Connecticut Sun -- leaving the arena with a black eye after getting poked in the eye.
The eye injury occurred early in Sunday's contest against the Sun, with guard DiJonai Carrington poking the AP Rookie of the Year just 90 seconds into the game.
Caitlin Clark takes a finger to the eye, no call pic.twitter.com/lrGIIJH28R
— Clark Report (@CClarkReport) September 22, 2024
An alternate angle shows Carrington's digits going directly into Clark's eye -- sending her to the ground in pain.
Replay on Carrington’s eye poke to Caitlin Clark. Looks intentional to me 🤔 pic.twitter.com/aA23GB0KOg
— Logo 3 Sports (@logo3sports) September 23, 2024
No foul was called on the play, and by the end of the third quarter, her black eye was already visible.
Because she was hurt less than two minutes into the game, many fans gave Clark some slack for the performance after she shot 4 for 17 from the field, and 2 for 13 beyond the arc. Caitlin, however, wasn't making excuses.
"Obviously got me pretty good in the eye," she told reporters postgame. " I don't think it affected me, honestly. I felt like I got good shots, they just didn't go down."
"Obviously a tough time for that to happen. I got some really good looks. I had three pretty wide-open threes in the first half that you usually make," Clark said.
Caitlin Clark visibly seem to have a black eye but didnt use that as an excuse and acknowledged her off-day.
— AK (@Sudharsan_AK10) September 22, 2024
Baby GOAT never makes excuses😍😍🔥🔥🔥🔥#WNBA #FeverRising pic.twitter.com/mSVoQR6ViT
While it was almost certainly an accident, Fever fans were quick to assume the poke was done purposely ... given the feud that's developed between the two sides.
A few weeks ago, DiJonai Carrington called the Indiana Fever fans the “nastiest” in the WNBA. I asked if she had anything to say to them ahead of this playoff matchup.
— Dan Zaksheske (@RealDanZak) September 22, 2024
“No.” pic.twitter.com/jZfaFjVA4m
Clark will have a few days to ice up and rest ... game two doesn't tip off in Connecticut until Wednesday.