Indiana Fever start fight club to defend Caitlin Clark

Incensed Indiana

Incensed Indiana, Sun scuffle, A helping Hull, Cunningham’s cuts, Not having it, Silliness, Inevitable, Fun and games?, Defensive tactics, Carter checks Clark, Learning curve, Caitlin’s rules, New friends

The WNBA season has had its fair share of altercations during the first half of the season, and the Indiana Fever have accounted for a couple of them. Superstar guard Caitlin Clark is no stranger to physical play, but there have been certain instances that have annoyed her and her teammates. The Fever have made it clear that they aren’t going to back down from a skirmish.

Sun scuffle

Incensed Indiana, Sun scuffle, A helping Hull, Cunningham’s cuts, Not having it, Silliness, Inevitable, Fun and games?, Defensive tactics, Carter checks Clark, Learning curve, Caitlin’s rules, New friends

In mid-June, Caitlin Clark got into it with Jacy Sheldon of the Connecticut Sun. Clark was working her way to the basket against Sheldon’s physical defense, when the latter poked Clark in the eye.

A helping Hull

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Fever forward Lexie Hull approached Sheldon to give her a piece of her mind regarding what precipitated the entire incident. The commotion took place in the third quarter.

Cunningham’s cuts

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With less than 50 seconds remaining in the contest with the game well decided, Sheldon pushed the ball towards the basket on a fast break. Indiana’s Sophie Cunningham wrapped her arms around Sheldon’s head and took her to the ground. This ignited another incident between the two teams.

Not having it

Incensed Indiana, Sun scuffle, A helping Hull, Cunningham’s cuts, Not having it, Silliness, Inevitable, Fun and games?, Defensive tactics, Carter checks Clark, Learning curve, Caitlin’s rules, New friends

Sheldon got up and got into a shoving match with Cunningham, which was joined by several other Sun and Fever players. Lindsey Allen of the Sun was also in the middle of the action next to Sheldon after the play. As the broadcast announcer said, it seemed like Cunningham knew that the Sun would react that demonstrably.

Silliness

Incensed Indiana, Sun scuffle, A helping Hull, Cunningham’s cuts, Not having it, Silliness, Inevitable, Fun and games?, Defensive tactics, Carter checks Clark, Learning curve, Caitlin’s rules, New friends

Sun head coach Rachid Meziane spoke to the Indianapolis Star after the game about Cunningham’s foul. “I did not understand. When you are winning the game by 17 points and you are doing this, to me, stupid foul, this is just disrespectful. It’s just disrespectful to do that foul when you’re winning the game by 17 points. Completely stupid.”

Inevitable

Incensed Indiana, Sun scuffle, A helping Hull, Cunningham’s cuts, Not having it, Silliness, Inevitable, Fun and games?, Defensive tactics, Carter checks Clark, Learning curve, Caitlin’s rules, New friends

Fever head coach Stephanie White told CBS Sports after the game, “It’s exactly what you expect our of fierce competition. I started talking to the officials in the first quarter, and we knew this was gonna happen. You could tell it was gonna happen. They gotta get control of it, they gotta be better.”

Fun and games?

Incensed Indiana, Sun scuffle, A helping Hull, Cunningham’s cuts, Not having it, Silliness, Inevitable, Fun and games?, Defensive tactics, Carter checks Clark, Learning curve, Caitlin’s rules, New friends

Cunningham appeared to poke fun at the incident a couple days later. She posted a video of her lip syncing “Hands to Myself” by Selena Gomez on social media. Cunningham’s caption was, “it’s a joke, the sound was too fitting! Happy game day.”

Defensive tactics

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Clark is arguably the most skilled player in the WNBA, and opposing teams are going to try whatever it takes to slow her down. Playing physically to try to and get her off her spot or in her head has been a common theme in Clark’s brief WNBA career.

Carter checks Clark

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During her rookie season, Clark was hip checked by Chennedy Carter, formerly of the Chicago Sky. Clark and her teammates didn’t react to the play, but it was widely discussed in the days and weeks to follow.

Learning curve

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NBA Hall of Famer Reggie Miller expected Clark to get roughed up early in her WNBA career. He told Sports Illustrated in 2024, “Why are people so shocked? She’s playing against grown women. The same thing happened to us as rookies…Of course she’s going to take her lumps. It’s a learning curve.”

Caitlin’s rules

Incensed Indiana, Sun scuffle, A helping Hull, Cunningham’s cuts, Not having it, Silliness, Inevitable, Fun and games?, Defensive tactics, Carter checks Clark, Learning curve, Caitlin’s rules, New friends

Miller also generally refereed to the punishment Michael Jordan took in the 1980’s, as the Detroit Pistons levied “Jordan rules” against him that prevented the Chicago Bulls star from getting to the basket. This went on for several years before Jordan finally got over the hump to win a title. It’ll be interesting to see if this continues to happen with Clark for the same length of time.

New friends

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Sophie Cunningham is in her first season with the Fever, but is clearly doing whatever is necessary to endear herself to Clark and her new teammates. Cunningham’s reaction late in the fourth quarter of the Sun game is something fans might expect a longtime teammate of Clark to do, not someone who hasn’t even played with her for two months.

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