Caitlin Clark was inexplicably checked to the ground by the Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter near the end of the third quarter of the Indiana Fever’s final WNBA game on Saturday.
Carter pushed Clark to the ground as she stood waiting for the impact, and the Chicago player remarkably escaped with only a personal foul.
TV replays show Carter shouting ‘you b***h’ at Clark before pushing her to the ground. It wasn’t immediately clear how Clark had provoked Carter, if at all, but the Fever star wasn’t expecting any impact.
Clark ultimately had the last laugh – her team held on for a one-point victory and the 71-70 victory was the team’s first home win of the season.
There were 15 seconds left in the third quarter and when time ran out, Clark gave her reaction to ESPN.
Chennedy Carter was called for a common foul on this play with Caitlin Clark.
Should this have been upgraded to a flagrant 1? ��pic.twitter.com/m2zoJ0KI1Q
— Link Points (@Link Points) June 1, 2024
Caitlin Clark was inexplicably checked to the ground by Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter
“That’s just not a basketball game, but I have to play through it, that’s what basketball at this level is about,” she said.
Before the game, Clark, the No. 1 pick in this year’s WNBA Draft, said players repeatedly got away with fouls against her.
Although Clark’s broader claims have been debated, Carter seemed fortunate to have escaped without a more severe punishment.
Clark, meanwhile, said midweek after her 30-point game in the loss to the Los Angeles Sparks, “I think everyone is physical against me.
‘They get away with things that other people probably can’t get away with. It is heavy.’
Saturday’s game marked the first time Clark faced her college rival Angel Reese, who was the seventh pick in the WNBA Draft and taken by Chicago.