Caitlin Clark left Tuesday night’s 85-77 victory by the Indiana Fever over the Connecticut Sun at TD Garden with an apparent groin injury that occurred in the final minute.
Indiana coach Stephanie White confirmed Clark “felt a little something in her groin” and that she would be evaluated “and see what happens from there.” The injury happened after Clark completed a bounce pass to teammate Kelsey Mitchell for a layup with about 40 seconds remaining.
Clark held the inside of her right thigh before walking over and banging her head against the stanchion in apparent frustration. She was visibly emotional as she went to the Fever bench, placing a towel over her head.
Before this season, Clark had never sat out a game in her college or pro career. Her second WNBA season has been riddled by injuries, missing nine regular-season games this summer.
Clark first sat out a preseason game because of quad tightness. She was later sidelined five games across May and June because of a left quad strain, then missed another two-week stretch from late June to early July because of a groin injury on her left side.
Clark made her return from that previous injury less than a week ago in a loss to the visiting Golden State Valkyries.
Asked postgame about the physical play Clark faces nightly, White responded that “there’s a level of physicality that they’re able to play with against her.”
“I knew it as an opponent, and I see it as her coach,” White said. “I’m not exactly sure why, but it just is what it is, and we’ve got to help her learn to adjust and use it against them in certain ways.”
Indiana improved to 8-5 with Clark this season after going 4-5 without her. She finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists against the Sun, including nine points and two assists in the fourth quarter.
The 12-10 Fever will complete the second leg of a back-to-back Wednesday when they face the defending champion New York Liberty in Brooklyn. Clark was named a participant in Friday’s 3-point contest earlier Tuesday. The WNBA All-Star Game will be played on Saturday in Indiana.
“I think we just take it one step at a time,” White said. “We’ll get some food and get on the plane and start talking about New York. She’s being evaluated; we’ll see where we are with that.”
