Caitlin Clark left bloodied as Indiana Fever crash out of WNBA playoffs after tense clash with Las Vegas Aces
The Indiana Fever were dumped out of the WNBA playoffs after a tense clash with the Las Vegas Aces that saw Caitlin Clark elbowed in the face in a dramatic climax.
Clark was left bloodied after being struck in the mouth by the elbow of Jewell Loyd with barely three minutes left in Thursday night’s decider.
After briefly heading back to the locker room, the Fever star returned to the court and showed her war wounds to the officials.
But Clark was unable to prevent her team from falling to a 94-83 defeat as A’ja Wilson took the defending champions into the semifinals.
Led by Wilson and head coach Becky Hammon, the Las Vegas Aces have triumphed in three of the past four WNBA seasons.
They will now go in search of yet another championship, while Clark and Co will have to lick their wounds after a narrow loss in the best-of-three series.
Caitlin Clark was left bloodied as the Indiana Fever crashed out of the WNBA playoffs
She was struck in the mouth by the elbow of Jewell Loyd late on in Thursday night’s decider
Clark immediately put her hand to her mouth before being taken back to the locker room
The Fever guard’s late injury was one of a number of flashpoints that saw tempers flare during Thursday night’s decider.
Indiana head coach Stephanie White had to be held back as she tried to complain to the officials after Loyd’s elbow struck Clark in the face.
This is the second year in a row that Las Vegas has ended the season for Clark and the Fever.
Twelve months ago, the teams met in the semifinals with the Aces pulling out an overtime victory in the finale of the five-game series.
On Thursday night, Wilson – a four-time WNBA MVP – scored 36 points as the Aces booked their place in the semifinals.
Las Vegas will now face the winner of the Golden State-Dallas series, which will be decided Friday in San Francisco.
A’ja Wilson scored 36 points as the Aces booked their place in the semifinals with the win
Indiana head coach Stephanie White had to be held back following the injury to Clark
During Game 2, Wilson was seen storming towards a fan sitting courtside, pointing at him and shouting: ‘You don’t point at me!’
The Aces superstar was assessed a technical foul for the confrontation but was cleared to play on Thursday night, when more drama ensued.
In the first quarter in Las Vegas, Clark took issue with Aces star Brianna Turner after she attempted to muscle in on Indiana’s huddle, with the Fever guard shoving her ex-teammate.