Caitlin Clark was tested during her first month in the WNBA with the physical play of opponents, which brought more attention to the league.
Not all the attention was positive.
Talk exploded over the weekend when Chicago’s Chennedy Carter gave a talk shoulder shot for Clark who knocked her to the ground before an inbound pass during the third quarter of the Sky-Indiana Fever game on Saturday.
“I think everyone is physical with me, they get away with things that other people probably can’t,” said Clark, who like many good offensive players sometimes struggles when he’s hit to get the referees’ attention after a loss to the Los Angeles Sparks last week. “It’s difficult, but that’s just the reality.
“This is a very physical game and you are going to be under pressure, this is professional basketball,” Clark said. “It is what it is, honestly.”
The referees said Carter’s action was a foul away from the ball and did not review the play. It was considered a common foul at the time. The league updated the piece to a flagrant violation-1 foul a day later.
While the WNBA has not commented on the physical plays involving Clark, the Carter=Clark collision got people talking not only across the sports media landscape, but also on shows like “The View.”
There’s no shortage of opinions about the physicality the No. 1 pick has faced this season, whether it’s arguing that not enough is being done to protect her, that she’s being targeted by other players because of media attention she receives, that race is it a factor or is it just the natural competitive evolution in the growing sport of women’s basketball.
Heading into Tuesday’s games, Clark is currently 11th in average fouls picked up per contest, averaging 4.2 per contest, best among rookies in that category. She is third in total fouls drawn, with 46, but the Fever (2-9) played the most games.
Clark said he won’t let the physical game get into his head and will continue playing. Sometimes, however, her frustration sets in when she feels like she doesn’t get a call. She was hit with a league-leading three technical fouls. A seventh technical during the regular season would result in a one-game suspension.
Fever coach Christie Sides understands Clark’s frustrations and doesn’t take the “it is what it is” approach. Sides believes some of the fouls against Clark crossed the line and said she will continue to send video clips to the league until something is done about it.
Carter’s foul came in Clark’s first professional match with college rival Angel Reese, a 71-70 Indiana victory. That game was watched by an average of 1.53 million viewers, with a peak of over 2.19 million.
Reese had her own “welcome to the WNBA moments.” Most notably, when she was thrown to the ground in a hard foul by Alyssa Thomas of Connecticut at a Sky-Sun game last month.
The referees immediately went to the monitor to review the situation and raised the foul to flagrant-2 on Thomas, which comes with automatic ejection.
“It’s not just because I’m a rookie,” Reese said of the physical game that comes her way. “I’m a player. I’m a basketball player. They don’t care if I’m a newbie. I mean, I want them to come to me every day, I want them to come to everyone. I mean, they shouldn’t be nice to me. I hope you all know this.
“They shouldn’t be nice to me or lie down because I’m Angel Reese or because I’m a newbie.”
Connecticut remains the unanimous No. 1 pick in this week’s AP WNBA poll. The Sun are the only undefeated team left in the league. Minnesota edged out Las Vegas for second place. New York was fourth and Seattle was fifth. Atlanta and Dallas were next, followed by Phoenix and Chicago. Los Angeles, Indiana and Washington completed the ranking.
Clark capped off a brutal opening schedule where the Fever played 11 games in 20 days with the worst pitching performance of his young professional career. Clark got 1 out of 10 against New York in a 36-point loss on Sunday night and finished with three points. Still, she averages 15.6 points, 6.4 assists and 5.1 rebounds. Clark received the league’s Rookie of the Month award earlier this week.
Minnesota rookie Alissa Pili had a breakout game last week against Phoenix, scoring 20 points and making seven of her nine shots from the field. Pili was 4-for-4 from behind the 3-point line in devastating victory. Reese continues to put up impressive rebounding numbers in his young career. She is leading the league in averaging five offensive rebounds per game, which would be second all-time in WNBA history behind Yolanda Griffith’s 5.1 in 2001.
Seattle’s Jewell Loyd earned AP Player of the Week honors. The Seattle Storm guard averaged 20.5 points, 6.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds to help the team win both games. Other players who received votes included DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas of Connecticut, Jonquel Jones of New York, Napheesa Collier of Minnesota, Tina Charles of Atlanta and A’ja Wilson of Las Vegas.
New York in Connecticut, Saturday. The winner of this game will likely represent the Eastern Conference in the Commissioner’s Cup championship game. The Liberty beat the Sun in the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs last season, winning the best-of-five series in four games.
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