Caitlin Clark suffers black eye from accidental poke in WNBA playoff debut

UNCASVILLE, CONNECTICUT: Caitlin Clark had a challenging start to her WNBA playoff journey on Sunday, September 22, as she was on the receiving end of a hit to the eye from a Connecticut Sun player. 

The Indiana Fever rookie's highly anticipated debut ended in disappointment as her team lost the game, 93-69.

Caitlin Clark says the poke didn't affect her

Just 90 seconds into the game, Caitlin Clark was knocked to the floor when Sun guard DiJonai Carrington accidentally poked her in the eye while attempting to block a pass.

Despite the painful contact, no foul was called. However, Clark struggled to regain her footing as she rolled on the floor in discomfort. 

The 22-year-old, who had been a standout throughout the season, managed to score only 11 points—significantly lower than her typical performance. In a postgame interview, she sported a noticeable shiner but remained resilient, downplaying the incident's impact on her game. 

"Obviously, she got me pretty good in the eye. 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 the first half that I usually make," explained Clark, as per Daily Mail. 

She added, "It didn’t feel good when it happened but I don’t think it affected me." 

Connecticut Sun outshines Indiana Fever in playoff matchup

While Caitlin Clark struggled, Kelsey Mitchell scored 21 points, and Aliyah Boston contributed 17 points and 11 rebounds. However, they were unable to overcome the Sun, who showcased their playoff prowess with Alyssa Thomas achieving her 15th career triple-double—12 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds.

This playoff appearance marked Indiana's first since 2016, a year when Connecticut’s head coach, Stephanie White, was in charge of the Fever. The experience gap was evident, with the Sun having played 222 playoff games compared to Indiana’s 19, including none for the starters.

Fans divided over controversial play

Despite Caitlin Clark brushing off DiJonai Carrington's poke, the fans were busy scrutinizing the moment. While some defended Carrington, others argued that the poke was intentional.

One wrote, "Stop watching things in slow motion. It wasn’t intentional. It just happens." However, another said, "It was intentional. She should have been kicked out. Flagrant 2."

A person opined, "Not intentional to me. Been on both sides of a play like that. She made a play at the ball and the follow through is so fast when it’s live she’s not thinking of trying to hit her. Only issue to me is a foul should have been called but wasn’t."

"Yall fever wasn’t going to win REGARDLESS. Let it go bro," expressed an individual. 

Another person wrote, "@WNBA @CathyEngelbert you need to step in here. This is inexcusable!" 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.