Caitlin Clark downplayed being poked in the eye by Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington in Sunday’s WNBA first-round playoff loss, saying her eye “feels good.” The Fever will try to avoid elimination on Wednesday in Game 2 on Wednesday night.
“It wasn’t intentional by any means,” Clark said Tuesday. “You just watched the play, it wasn’t intentional.”
The injury occurred in the first quarter as Clark dribbled at the top of the perimeter and she passed to teammate Aliyah Boston, who was in the paint. As Clark made the pass, Carrington poked the Fever guard in the right eye as she attempted to get a hand on the ball. Clark immediately covered her face and fell to the court. She returned to the game after briefly going to the bench and played 36 minutes in her playoff debut.
After Game 1, Clark said that getting poked in the eye didn’t impact her performance.
“It didn’t bother me,” Clark said. “Obviously, it didn’t feel so good when it happened.”
Carrington’s foul on Clark led to an intense reaction on social media following Game 1, with some fans saying the Sun guard deliberately hit the Fever rookie. Carrington said Tuesday that she didn’t intend to poke Clark in the eye, noting she was “trying to make a play on the ball.”
“I don’t even know why I would intend to hit anybody in the eye,” Carrington said. “That doesn’t even make sense to me.”
The Sun lead the best-of-three series 1-0 after beating the Fever 93-69. Clark recorded 11 points and 8 assists on 4-of-17 shooting. Carrington had 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor.
Clark is “embracing the challenge” of trying to force a do-or-die Game 3 on Friday in Indianapolis. The Fever beat the Sun 84-80 on Aug. 28 during the regular season.
“We know we’re capable of beating this team,” Clark said.
Game 2 between the Fever and Sun is Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. (ET).
(Photo: Jesse D. Garrabrant / NBAE via Getty Images)
