Caitlin Clark’s playoff debut went about as poorly as anyone could have imagined. With all of the anticipation considering how well she has been playing and the social media excitement surrounding her fourth-place finish in the MVP voting, her 11-point performance on 4 of 16 shooting was a total letdown.
Her team got washed by the Connecticut Sun and Clark’s other archnemesis during her rookie season, DiJonai Carrington.
Adding insult to injury, early in the contest, Carrington swiped at the basketball and caught Clark in the eye. The refs didn’t catch the foul and play resumed as normal as Clark was on the ground writhing in pain.
DiJonai Carrington and Connecticut Sun Beat Up On Caitlin Clark In Game 1 of WNBA Playoffs
Then the Rookie of the Year went to the bench and regrouped but never got into a groove.
The 93-69 blowout had Indiana Fever fans in an uproar. The fact that one of Clark’s on-court enemies got the best of her in the game had them calling for blood on social media.
Carrington (14 points) also outscored Clark and dished out a shiner, leaving a black eye that should just be fading away as Clark hits the court for a do-or-die Game 2 on Wednesday.
“Obviously, she got me pretty good in the eye,” shared Clark in a postgame media conference.
Matchups against Carrington and the Connecticut Sun are always very physical. The Sun are the No. 1 defensive team in the WNBA because of their aggressive play. Carrington has defended and flustered Clark as well as any guard in the league.
Clark wasn’t sweating the early contact after the game, but she did mention the refs early in her press conference. She didn’t dwell on it though, choosing to concentrate on her lack of production.
“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. It didn’t feel good when it happened, but I don’t think it affected me,” Clark said.
Clark Retaliates, Smacking DiJonai’s Contact Out Of Her Eye
While some fans looked furious, most were worried about Clark’s eye. Clark actually got some get-back later in the game when she purposely swung her hand wildly hitting Carrington in the face and causing her contact to fly out. After searching for it and getting it back into her eye Carrington went to the free throw line. The refs could have called a flagrant foul on Clark but didn’t.
You could hear Carrington telling the referees. “If it was any other player, you would call that a follow-through foul”
A follow-through foul is a type of flagrant foul that occurs when a defensive player makes hard contact with an offensive player and then follows through.
Despite the get-back, Clark fans were still heated.
“Dijonai might actually be braind-ad. You literally blacked her f–king eye with no foul called, and you’re b–ching about a non-existent special whistle. STFU seriously.”
“Didn’t you black her eye and no foul was called? Y’all can’t b–ch about a ‘special whistle’ when CC is flagrant fouled the most in the league,” added another user.
Clark fans used this incident as another example of referees not only failing to exhibit the favoritism towards Clark that some have accused them of, but contrarily and blatantly ignoring obvious abuses towards Clark at the hands of veteran players.
Caitlin Clark Fans Livid She Got A Black Eye From Carrington
The black eye was too much for some fans to accept, considering Carrington and Clark’s brief but explosive history.
“The thing about DiJonai is she dishes it out but then plays the VICTIM,” penned another spectator.
This isn’t the first time Carrington has played dirty. Earlier in the season, she ended up mocking Clark when she called a foul.
“She annoys me so much,” wrote another user.
Clark fans hate to see her lose, so watching her get bruised up and play poorly afterward has them ready to get Carrington thrown out the league.
Related:
Expect there to be a huge and bloodthirsty traveling Fever crowd during Game 2 of the first round of the WNBA playoffs on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena.
