Caitlin Clark scored 11 points in her WNBA postseason debut on Sunday, which is significantly lower than her season average of 19.2 points per game. She struggled with her shooting, making only 24% of her attempts and 15% from three-point range, compared to her season averages of 42% and 34%.
During the third quarter of her team’s 93-69 loss to the Connecticut Sun, Clark sat on the bench, visibly frustrated. She also dealt with a black eye from an incident in the first quarter when DiJonai Carrington accidentally poked her near the eye while Clark was passing to teammate Aliyah Boston. Clark doubled over in pain, but no foul was called, and she ended up with a bruise. Despite this, she did not blame it for her performance.
“Got me pretty good in the eye. I don’t think it affected me, honestly,” Clark said post-game. “I felt like I got good shots; they just didn’t go down. Obviously a tough time for that to happen.” She added, “It didn’t feel too good when it happened, but it is what it is.”
The contact appeared to be accidental. Earlier in the season, Carrington had seemingly mocked Clark for exaggerating a foul call and criticized her on social media for comments regarding racism and misogyny.
Clark, the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer and the top pick for the Fever in this year’s draft, had a rough start to the season but turned things around after the Olympic break, helping the team reach the postseason for the first time since 2016. This season, she set a WNBA record with 337 assists but also led the league in turnovers with an average of 5.6 per game. On Sunday, she recorded eight assists and only two turnovers.
“I felt like I battled and tried my best and took care of the ball better than I usually do, which is a positive,” she said.
If the Fever lose again this week, their season will end. Game 2 is set for Wednesday in Uncasville, Connecticut, with a potential Game 3 on Friday in Indianapolis. “We can win,” Clark expressed. “It’s not about the building, the gym, or the hoops. I have all the confidence in the world in this team, and everyone in the locker room does. I know we’ll be a lot better on Wednesday.”
