Caitlin Clark endured a miserable return to the court on Sunday night as the fallout from Chennedy Carter’s brutal bodycheck rumbled on.
Clark was knocked to the ground by Chicago Sky’s Carter towards the end of the third quarter of Indiana Fever’s WNBA game on Saturday. Television replays appeared to show Carter yelling ‘you b***h’ at Clark before shoving her to the ground.
Clark ended up having the last laugh as her team held on for a one-point win. The 71-70 triumph was the team’s first home win of the season.
She was back in action on Sunday as the Fever took on the New York Liberty and Clark appeared in good spirits as she warmed up at Barclays Center.
But the rookie was held to a season-low three points on 1-of-10 shooting – and 1-for-7 from deep – as the Liberty recorded a dominant 104-68 victory in their opening Commissioner’s Cup game.
Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever endured a miserable return to the court on Sunday night
The Iowa alum was shoved to the ground by Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter on Saturday
New York scored 100 points for the second time this season – with both coming against the Fever. It was the third time already in 2024 that New York has beaten Indiana, with the Liberty winning by a combined 83 points.
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton scored 20 points in 25 minutes, while Jonquel Jones added 18 points and 13 rebounds for her second straight double-double.
Sabrina Ionescu contributed 16, six assists and six rebounds as New York shot a season-best 57.6 percent and scored 44 points in the paint.
Before the game, Clark’s Fever teammates came in for criticism for not doing more to ‘protect’ the WNBA’s star player.
Clark was held to a season-low three points on 1-of-10 shooting – and 1-for-7 from deep
The Liberty recorded a dominant 104-68 victory in their opening Commissioner’s Cup game
Clark watches from the bench as the Fever is heavily beaten by New York on Sunday night
The Warriors’ Draymond Green wrote in the comments section of an ESPNW post on Instagram, ‘Indiana better go invest in an enforcer… FAST!’
Former NBA forward Matt Barnes also weighed in on the Fever’s need to protect Clark.
‘I mean, throughout the season, she’s been getting beat up,’ he began in an Instagram post, as noted by the New York Post. ‘Hard screens, elbows, knocked down,’ Barnes said. ‘It is what it is; she’s not the first, she won’t be the last. My issue and my question is, Where the f**k are her teammates at? Where y’all at? Where are the rest of the Indiana Fever at?
Barnes, who played with the likes of Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin and Chris Paul throughout his career, was at times an enforcer himself and believes Clark’s teammates need to stick up for her more.
Clark and Carter clashed on Saturday as the Fever defeated the Sky in a close-fought battle
‘I’ve seen a couple of girls smirk when she’s got knocked down, half-ass to pick her up. Like, y’all supposed to protect the asset, protect the star. And although this is a team, you always protect your star. I was someone who protected the stars.
‘You f**k with Kobe, [Chris Paul], Blake [Griffin], the list goes on, it’s going to be a problem.’
While Carter refused to answer questions about Clark after the Sky’s loss on Saturday, she had plenty to say on social media afterwards.
Writing about Clark on Threads, Carter said, ‘…beside three point shooting what does [Clark] bring to the table man.’
She also alluded to her beef with Clark on her own Instagram story, writing, ‘I grew up with all brothers. All we did is fight and argue. I love the hate more than the love what don’t yall understand. I’d rather you hate me [than] love me and I mean that on my dead aunt.’