The 22-year-old rookie was hounded by the Sun’s WNBA-best defense all night in Game 1, with DiJonai Carrington and DeWanna Bonner making Clark work on every possession.
Clark still finished with 20 points and eight assists, but her shooting efficiency got away from her. She shot 4-for-17 from the field and 2-for-13 from 3-point range, struggling to find any rhythm against Connecticut’s suffocating coverage.
The Fever phenom picked up a black eye during the contest, and Indiana dropped Game 1 in a lopsided 93-69 effort.
Clark and the Fever now face elimination, and she’ll have to play through the eye injury to keep her team’s title hopes alive.
Caitlin Clark black eye injury update
Clark was hit in the eye by Sun guard Carrington as she tried to throw a pass in Game 1. The area around her eye turned black and blue and started to swell as the game went on.
Still, Clark played through the discomfort, logging 36 minutes in the loss. The discoloration and swelling already appeared to heal when the star rookie addressed the media postgame.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark sporting a black eye after Game 1 loss to Connecticut Sun
pic.twitter.com/oK8Fo00AHA— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) September 22, 2024
Clark is in no danger of missing Indiana’s win-or-go-home Game 2 against Connecticut on Wednesday, Sept. 25. In fact, she is not even listed on the Fever’s injury report for the contest.
Expect Clark to be a full go as she looks to help her team force a Game 3 back home in Indiana.
Caitlin Clark-DiJonai Carrington black eye video
The aftermath of the situation has been blown out of proportion, with fans slowing down the play to see if Carrington intentionally poked Clark in the eye.
You can watch the foul from two different angles below.
Caitlin Clark takes a finger to the eye, no call pic.twitter.com/lrGIIJH28R
— Clark Report (@CClarkReport) September 22, 2024
🚨Video evidence suggests Dijonai Carrington may have intentionally hit Caitlin Clark early in the first quarter of the Sun v. Fever playoff game, resulting in a black eye.
No foul was called. The #WNBA needs to investigate immediately. Does this look unintentional to you? pic.twitter.com/ue2Sf03e9O
— The Boston Post (@ABostonPost) September 23, 2024
What did Caitlin Clark say about her black eye?
Clark kept her answer simple when asked if she thought Carrington intentionally poked her in the eye.
“It wasn’t intentional by any means,” Clark said. “You just watch the play, it wasn’t intentional.”
Asked Caitlin Clark on what she’d say to the crowd that thinks the Carrington hit to her eye was on purpose: “It wasn’t intentional by any means. You just watched the play, it wasn’t intentional.” pic.twitter.com/HiMNiibpy5
— Matthew Byrne (@MatthewByrne1) September 24, 2024
What did DiJonai Carrington say about Caitlin Clark’s black eye?
USA Today reporter Christine Brennan asked Carrington about the play in a video that has now gone viral with over 800,000 views on X because of the tone of the questions.
Carrington stated that she did not hit Clark intentionally.
“I don’t even know why I would intend to hit anybody in the eye. That doesn’t even make sense to me,” Carrington said.
“I didn’t [hit her intentionally]. I didn’t know I hit her, actually. I was trying to make a play on the ball and I guess I followed through and I hit her, so, obviously, it’s not intentional. That’s not even the type of player that I am.”
I asked DiJonai Carrington about that moment early in Sunday’s Indiana-Connecticut game when she caught Caitlin Clark in the eye. Here’s her answer: pic.twitter.com/DnQVYi0r6J
— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) September 24, 2024
Brennan followed up by asking Carrington if she and teammate Marina Mabrey “had a laugh about it” later in the game, to which Carrington reiterated that she did not know she hit Clark in the eye.
Carrington has been one of the best perimeter defenders in the WNBA this season and had 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and one block in the Game 1 win.
