What happened to Caitlin Clark? Exploring Indiana Fever star's injury in Game 1 vs. Sun

On Sunday, the Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark made her highly anticipated postseason debut against the Connecticut Sun. However, the Rookie of the Year suffered a nasty injury in the first half.

DiJonai Carrington was tasked with defending Clark for most of the game. While swiping down to try and deflect a pass, Carrington caught Clark in the face.

Clark hit the ground after taking the shot to the face and stayed down for some time. The Fever took a timeout to give her a chance to gather herself. Despite taking a finger to the eye, Clark managed to stay in the game.

It did not take long for Clark to start seeing the effects of the hit. By the end of the third quarter, a bruise was already starting to appear under her eye.

Caitlin Calrk's performance with eye injury in playoffs

In the regular season, Caitlin Clark needed some time to adjust before she really found her stride in what became a historic rookie campaign. Based on how things unfolded Sunday, the same could be said for her playoff career.

The experience of the Connecticut Sun was clearly a factor in this game. On top of this, they came out of the gates quickly and set the tone early with their defensive intensity. This, paired with the length in their lineup, led to Clark having a lackluster postseason debut.

In 36 minutes of action, Caitlin Clark finished with 11 points, four rebounds and eight assists. Even before she took the shot to the face, she had trouble getting shots to fall. Seeing how quickly the bruise formed, the discomfort in her eye might have also played a factor. Clark ended the game shooting 4-for-17 from the field and 2-for-13 from beyond the arc.

With the focal point of their offense struggling so much, Indiana had a hard time stringing points together. Even with her setting up teammates with her playmaking, the Fever didn’t have the firepower to keep up with the Sun for four quarters. This resulted in Connecticut seizing momentum just before halftime and never looking back.

Luckily for Clark and the Fever, they have some time to recuperate and gather themselves before Game 2. They’ll be back in action again on Wednesday as they look to avoid elimination.