Former Iowa guard Caitlin Clark Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iowa Hawkeyes Legend Caitlin Clark at Center of Heated WNBA Scuffle

Originally posted on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI
By Carson Field | Last updated Jun 18, 2025 8:51 AM ET

In her second game back from a quad injury, Caitlin Clark went off again — and this time, she was at the center of a contentious sequence.

Clark, a four-year Iowa star now playing for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, got poked in the eye by Connecticut’s Jacy Sheldon in the third quarter of Tuesday’s game between the Fever and Sun.

Visibly frustrated by the play, Clark pushed Sheldon off of her when play ended. Then, Connecticut’s Marina Mabrey shoved Clark to the ground.

Sheldon was initially called for a common foul, but referees upgraded it to a flagrant. Mabrey received a technical foul.

Marina Mabrey shoves Caitlin Clark to the floor pic.twitter.com/bLiXgKAf8U
— Clark Report (@CClarkReport) June 18, 2025

The tensions didn’t diffuse there.

In the fourth quarter, Fever guard Sophie Cunningham wrapped up Sheldon on a layup attempt. The two got into it underneath the basket, and so did several others from both teams. Cunningham was ejected for the play.

The tense moments didn’t deter Clark from having another excellent game.

The second-year guard finished the game with 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Clark had a plus-31 plus/minus in her 29 minutes. She went 4-of-6 on 3-pointers and also logged six assists as Indiana defeated Connecticut 88-71.

Clark’s big game follows a 32-point performance on Saturday, when the Fever beat the New York Liberty 102-88 in her first game after missing three weeks with the injury.

The win is Indiana’s second in a row, and they’re now 6-5. With Tuesday’s win, Indiana also earned a spot in the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup championship game.

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In six games in 2025, Clark is averaging 21.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game.

Clark started all 40 games for the Fever in 2024, ending the season with 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.4 assists per contest. She won WNBA Rookie of the Year and first-team All-WNBA honors and was a WNBA All-Star.

Clark’s WNBA stardom comes after she became a legend in Iowa City.

In four seasons with the Hawkeyes, Clark was a three-time unanimous first-team All-American and won the John R. Wooden Award — given to college basketball’s most outstanding player — twice. She averaged 31.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 8.9 assists during her senior season, 2023-24, at Iowa.

Clark is a native of Des Moines, and she played high school basketball at Dowling Catholic. She was a four-year varsity player at the school, eventually becoming the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2020, per ESPN, and winning Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year honors.

Next up for Clark and the Fever is a road game against the Golden State Valkyries on Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m.

This article first appeared on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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