Caitlin Clark and DiJonai Carrington reject the notion that the Game 1 eye-poke was intentional: “Just watch the game”
Both Caitlin Clark and DiJonai Carrington rejected the idea that the push that gave Clark a black eye in the first playoff game was intentional.
Carrington caught the Indiana Fever star’s eye in the first quarter of the Connecticut Sun’s 93-69 win in the first game of their opening playoff series on Sunday. Although Clark finished the game without any problems, she was left with a black eye.
Like many other fouls called on Clark this season, it has been the subject of much discussion on social media in recent days. Although it was clearly an unintentional play, Carrington was asked if she intentionally nudged Clark on Tuesday before Wednesday night’s second game.
“I don’t even know why I wanted to hit somebody in the eye,” Carrington said. “It doesn’t make sense to me. But no, I didn’t. Actually, I didn’t know I hit them. I wanted to play the ball and I guess I followed through and hit them.
“Of course, it’s never intentional. That’s not even the kind of player I am.”
I asked DiJonai Carrington about the moment early in Sunday’s Indiana-Connecticut game when she looked into Caitlin Clark’s eyes. Here is her response: pic.twitter.com/DnQVYi0r6J
— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) 24 September 2024
Clark echoed Carrington’s comments.
“It was definitely not intentional,” she said. “Just watch the game.”
The Sun took a commanding 24-point victory in Sunday’s game at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut thanks to a triple-double from Alyssa Thomas. Clark, who is expected to be named Rookie of the Year this season and finished fourth in the league MVP voting, scored 11 points and shot 4 of 17 from the field. The game was the Fever’s first playoff game since 2016.
The Fever must win on Wednesday night to extend the three-game series.
“We know we’re capable of beating this team. We’ve done it,” Clark said, via ESPN’s Andrea Adelson. “Obviously they’re really, really good and we know it’s going to be a challenge, but I don’t think we’re going to shy away from it. I think you just have to embrace the challenge.”
“We know we didn’t play our best (on Sunday) and maybe the final score really does look like we got slapped, but we had six points. We had eight points. We just never really got over the hump.”
