July 16 (UPI) — Caitlin Clark clutched the right side of her groin late during an Indiana Fever win over the Connecticut Sun and will now have the injury evaluated before returning to the court, coach Stephanie White told reporters.
Clark sustained the injury with less than a minute remaining in the 87-77 triumph Tuesday at TD Garden in Boston. The All-Star guard totaled 14 points, eight rebounds, and even assists.
“She just felt a little something in her groin, so we’ll get it evaluated and see what happens from there,” White said at her postgame news conference.
The Fever led 82-75 during Clark’s injury sequence. She dribbled near half court at the start of the play, while defended by guard Lei’la Lacan. Clark dribbled to her right, went back to her left, and darted toward the 3-point line before a quick stop. She then threw a bounce pass to Mitchell, who scored with a layup off the glass with 39 seconds remaining.
Clark immediately held onto her groin as she walked back over half-court. She then rested her head on the opposing basket and appeared to have tears in her eyes as she walked to the Fever bench. She did not return.
Caitlin Clark appeared to be in pain after this play late in the fourth quarter.
Clark returned to play last week after missing 5 games with a groin injury. pic.twitter.com/y78M3mDeCf— espnW (@espnW) July 16, 2025
Clark, who never missed a game in college or the first year of her WNBA career, sat out 10 games so far this season due to a quad ailment and an injury to her groin on her left side. She returned from the latter injury on July 9.
The Fever will take on the New York Liberty in back-to-back matchups on Wednesday and Tuesday in Brooklyn. The first matchup will tip off at 7:30 p.m. EDT at Barclays Center.
“I think we just take it one step at a time,” White said. “We’ll get some food and get on the plane and start talking about New York. She [Clark] is being evaluated. We’ll see where we are with that. Certainly, we will have another evaluation and conversation in the morning and see where we are.
“This group has played without her. At least we’ve got experience in that.”
Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell totaled 20 points in Tuesday’s win. Forward Natasha Howard chipped in 18 points and 13 rebounds. Sun center Tina Charles recorded a game-high 21 points and collected 11 rebounds. The Fever outshot the Sun 49.2% to 36.1% in the victory.
Clark made just 4 of 14 shots, including a 1 of 7 clip from 3-point range. The second-year guard shot 44.7% from the floor and was a 40% shooter from 3-point range through her first six games this season, but made just 29.4% of her field goal attempts and 14.3% (7 of 49) of her 3-pointers over her last seven appearances.
Clark’s 16.5 points per game are tied for the 16th-most in the WNBA. She ranks second in the league with 8.8 assists per game.
The Fever (12-10) lost to the Golden State Valkyries in Clark’s return, but are on a three-game winning streak since then. They sit in sixth place in the WNBA standings. The Liberty (14-6) are third in the standings, trailing only the first-place Minnesota Lynx (19-4) and Phoenix Mercury (15-6).
