Caitlin ClarkSuffers Eye Poke… In Fever Playoff Loss

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Caitlin Clark had a rough go of it in her playoff debut — scoring just 11 points in the Indiana Fever’s 93-69 blowout loss to the Connecticut Sun — leaving the arena with a black eye after getting poked in the eye.

The eye injury occurred early in Sunday’s contest against the Sun, with guard DiJonai Carrington poking the AP Rookie of the Year just 90 seconds into the game.

An alternate angle shows Carrington’s digits going directly into Clark’s eye — sending her to the ground in pain.

No foul was called on the play, and by the end of the third quarter, her black eye was already visible.

Because she was hurt less than two minutes into the game, many fans gave Clark some slack for the performance after she shot 4 for 17 from the field, and 2 for 13 beyond the arc. Caitlin, however, wasn’t making excuses.

“Obviously got me pretty good in the eye,” she told reporters postgame. ” I don’t think it affected me, honestly. I felt like I got good shots, they just didn’t go down.”

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“Obviously a tough time for that to happen. I got some really good looks. I had three pretty wide-open threes in the first half that you usually make,” Clark said.

While it was almost certainly an accident, Fever fans were quick to assume the poke was done purposely … given the feud that’s developed between the two sides.

Clark will have a few days to ice up and rest … game two doesn’t tip off in Connecticut until Wednesday.