The WNBA got controversy on its hands within 90 seconds of the first 2024 playoff game starting. During the Indiana Fever’s Game 1 in the best-of-3 first-round series against the Connecticut Sun, Caitlin Clark was left with a black eye. Rival Guard DiJonai Carrington poked the unanimous Rookie of the Year winner in the right eye. Moreover, the foul went uncalled, despite Clark falling to the ground in obvious pain.

Fans were furious as they labeled Carrington’s move an intentional one. Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy also joined the thousands on social media in bashing the WNBA. He wrote on X: “Why does the WNBA let players wear gigantic nails if they use them as weapons? We’re lucky CC didn’t lose an eye here. (Reminder no foul called and Caitlin played with 1 eye the rest of game and had her worst shooting performance in months after this).”

This might be the reason why Clark had one of her worst shooting nights since she joined the W. She only shot 23.5% (4-of-17) from the field, including 2-of-11 from three. Furthermore, the Fever got thumped by Connecticut 93-69 and they now stare at an early elimination. Kelsey Mitchell’s 21 points & Aliyah Boston’s 11 rebounds were the only silver linings on a disappointing night.

The more experienced Sun, on the back of mid-season acquisition Marina Mabrey’s game-high 27 points, and Alyssa Thomas’ 15th career triple-double, dominated the Fever. As a result, Caitlin Clark’s loss of performance under pressure made many fans irate. But was it the eye injury that left her struggling for points?

Caitlin Clark owns up to her mistakes after Indiana Fever’s “crappy” loss

After Clark was hit in the eye, she briefly joined the bench when the Indiana Fever called a timeout. Despite the pain, she chose to continue playing. Though she dished out 8 assists in her 36 minutes on the court, it was only a consolation statistic. However, in the post-game press conference, she did not blame DiJonai Carrington’s dirty move for her failure.

“Obviously, she got me pretty good in the eye,” Clark told reporters. “I don’t think it affected me. 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.” The 6ft Guard also admitted that the Fever didn’t play as cohesively as in the regular season. “I just felt like we played a crappy game. The flow of the game was really bad,” she concluded.

The pressure has now doubled on the Indiana Fever. Despite making the WNBA playoffs for the first time in 8 years, they are staring at the exit door. Contrastingly, the Sun is in their 8th consecutive postseason, and deservedly so. As for the Carrington v/s Clark saga, which began in their regular season matchups, might only gain traction with everything on the line in the playoffs.