Post-game photos show Indiana Fever and WNBA rookie star Caitlin Clark sporting a shiner under her right eye after taking a poke to the face during Game 1 of the WNBA Playoffs between Indiana and the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.
Clark, who on Sunday was named the AP’s WNBA Rookie of the Year, was poked in the eye by Sun star DiJonai Carrington during the first half.
The blow to her face was sharp enough to send her falling to the floor of Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Arena.
After the play, Clark was checked out by her team, and it was decided that it was safe for her to stay in the game, Athlon Sports reported.
Despite the redness of her eye and her fall during the play, the referees did not call any penalties on Carrington or the Sun.
During the game, it was clear that Clark was developing a black eye.
By the time the game was over, images showed that Clark was well on the way suffering a black eye.
Despite the obvious injury, Clark said after the game that the pop to the face did not affect her play, but she did feel that her team just did not play well all the way around.
The rookie star was right about that. The third-seeded Sun bested the sixth-seeded Fever in a 93-69 victory in Game 1 of the quarterfinals Sunday.
Clark finished the night with 11 points, four rebounds, and eight assists and had a solid showing on the defensive end, posting one block and three steals. She shot 24.5 percent from the field.
Ahead of this playoff game, Clark averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game. She leads the 2024 rookie class in average points and also led the entire WNBA in average assists.
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