Post-game photos show Indiana Fever and WNBA rookie star Caitlin Clark with bruising under her right eye after being hit in the face during Game 1 of the WNBA playoffs between Indiana and the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.
Clark, who was named the Associated Press WNBA Rookie of the Year on Sunday, was poked in the eye by Suns star De'Jonai Carrington in the first half.
The blow to her face was hard enough to knock her to the floor at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.
After the play, Clark was checked by the team. Decided Athlon Sport reported that she said it was safe for her to remain in the match.
Despite Carrington having a red eye and falling during the play, the umpires did not award any penalties to either Carrington or the Sunteam.
It was clear throughout the match that Clarke was developing a black eye.
By the end of the match, footage showed Clarke suffering severe damage to the area around his eye.
Despite the obvious injury, Clarke said after the game that the blow to his face didn't affect his play, but that he felt the team didn't play well overall.
The rookie star was right, as the third-seeded Suns defeated the sixth-seeded Fever 93-69 in the first game of the quarterfinals on Sunday.
Clark finished with 11 points, four rebounds and eight assists, and also had a block and three steals while shooting 24.5 percent from the field.
Coming into this playoff run, Clark was averaging 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game. She led the 2024 rookie class in scoring averages and led the entire WNBA in assist averages.
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