Caitlin Clark’s status remains unclear after the Fever star exited Wednesday night’s 111–109 loss to the Mercury with a back injury.
Clark, who entered the game already dealing with a back issue, left during the third quarter and did not return.
In the second quarter of the game, Clark was knocked to the court before Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas appeared to drive her leg into Clark’s groin and press a closed fist into her throat. No foul was called on the play.
“It was egregious, the fact that it was a no-call,” Fever coach Stephanie White said in a press conference after the game. “I heard about it at halftime. I brought it to the attention of the officials at halftime, yet we still had 11 fouls in the fourth quarter to their two.”
“It’s absolutely egregious and utterly disrespectful,” White added. “We have a generational talent and a WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots right there that weren’t called.”
White said there was no update on Clark’s condition after the game. On Thursday, the WNBA announced that Thomas had been given a Flagrant Foul 2 penalty and a one-game suspension as a result of the incident, which it deemed a “non-basketball act.”
On June 22, Clark received her fifth technical foul of the season for clapping following a second-half altercation with Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner. Clark criticized the call after the Fever’s 86–77 win, calling the technical “ridiculous.” She is now three technical fouls away from an automatic one-game suspension.
The Fever, who are now third in the Eastern Conference and seventh in the league overall with a 10-8 record, are scheduled to host the Los Angeles Sparks on June 27.
