Another Caitlin Clark game, another hard foul on the star rookie.
And, surprise surprise, another fouler who looks absolutely shocked that she had a foul called on her.
The latest viral foul on the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft came during the Indiana Fever’s 88-69 loss on Tuesday to the defending champion Las Vegas Aces in Las Vegas.
Clark had a mediocre performance, going 4-12 from the field with 13 points; fellow guard Kelsey Mitchell led the 8-13 Fever with 23 points, and forward Aliyah Boston chipped in a further 18.
The loss keeps the Fever on the outside looking in for the WNBA playoffs, although the season runs through September and the team’s been streaky. Given the vicissitudes of Indiana’s fortunes, they could be near the top or well out of contention by then.
As for Las Vegas, the win put the defending champs at 11-6, still in a disappointing No. 5 seed but clearly well set going into the stretch.
The viral moment from Tuesday night’s game was yet another hard foul on Clark — this time by Aces center Kiah Stokes.
Stokes seemed genuinely shocked that she was getting called for bumping Clark hard enough that she fell to the ground:
Defender wonders why it was a foul when she hammers Caitlin Clark 😂😭 pic.twitter.com/bMPOsk2C29
— LeLakers 2️⃣3️⃣👑 (@LeLaker) July 3, 2024
Do you think Caitlin Clark is being targeted?
Again, this is hardly new, with a pile of both uncalled fouls and hard, unnecessary fouls that had to be called because they were so obvious on Clark during the former University of Iowa star’s first season in the league.
Caitlin Clark got hit across the arm and no foul was called 🤔 pic.twitter.com/AEHxkQwrJo
— WNBA Got Game (@wnbagotgame) June 20, 2024
Caitlin Clark is indeed the Steph Curry on #WNBA
How does she not get even these obvious foul calls???#FeverRising pic.twitter.com/NLFKwL6GJh
— Ashwin (@Sudharsan_ak) June 20, 2024
Perhaps most infamous were two fouls against Clark by members of the Chicago Sky that involved fellow 2024 draftee and Clark college rival Angel Reese.
The first wasn’t committed by Reese, but the rookie could be seen celebrating on the sidelines after the Sky’s Chennedy Carter committed the off-ball foul on Clark.
Look how hyped Angel Reese is on the bench after Caitlin Clark takes a cheap shot 😭 pic.twitter.com/GyeG1Q6OhZ
— Emo Jimmy (@WheelerJaylen) June 1, 2024
The second time, Reese got hit with a flagrant after basically trying to take off Clark’s head without even going for the ball during an attempt to block a shot:
Caitlin Clark is fouled while driving to the basket pic.twitter.com/U9TvoFUoD3
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) June 16, 2024
And Reese gave a long explanation for that foul, which sounded an awful lot like the look on Stokes’ face Tuesday night after she took down Clark.
“A basketball play. It was a basketball play,” Reese told reporters in a post-game interview. “I can’t control the refs. They affected the game obviously a lot tonight.”
“I think we went up really strong a lot of times, and we didn’t get a lot of calls,” she added.
“Going back and looking at the film, I’ve seen a lot of calls that weren’t made. I guess some people got a special whistle. But just being able to play hard as best as we can.”
Yes, Caitlin Clark has a “special whistle” for people who try to treat her head like it was the ball during a “block” attempt. The nerve of those zebras. To think they’d actually call a foul on Caitlin Clark what it was: a foul.
