Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark suffered a migraine during Sunday's win over the Phoenix Mercury , which led to her skipping media duties postgame.
Clark , who scored 15 points and played 39 minutes as the Fever beat the Mercury 88-82, has dealt with migraine issues during her career and was taken off the court toward the end of the game. Clark exited the court with 15 points, 12 assists, and 9 rebounds, as she came agonizingly close to becoming the first WNBA rookie to record a triple-double.
Despite skipping the postgame press conference, Clark was pulled aside briefly by ESPN reporter Christine Williamson after the game. "I'm just happy we won. It was cool to play against [Taurasi], and obviously a really great game. This crowd was absolutely incredible," Clark said.
Fever head coach Christine Sides explained her decision to pull Clark before the migraine diagnosis was confirmed. "I thought I needed a defensive group - we needed to make sure we got stops. That was what it was about." Sides said.
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"She didn't feel well throughout the entire game so she's with her trainer right now." Clark and the Fever outplayed WNBA stars such as Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner, and the rookie earned their respect - especially due to playing with a migraine.
The spotlight has been on Clark ever since she was drafted first overall by the Fever back on April 15, but she's been one of the biggest names in women's sports for the past two years. Clark left Iowa as the all-time leading NCAA points scorer across both men's and women's competitions and has brought more eyes to women's basketball than ever before.
Clark was warned about the step up in class from college basketball to the WNBA and was even given a heads-up by Mercury's Taurasi who stated how difficult the transition will be. After Sunday's game, Taurasi credited Clark for handling the process well and exceeding expectations.
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"It's amazing what Caitlin has been able to do in her short career so far. It's just been nothing short of remarkable. The one thing that I really love about her is she loves the game," Taurasi said.
"You can tell she put the work in. Even throughout her short WNBA career, it's been a lot of pressure, a lot of things thrown at her. She keeps showing up and keeps getting better every single game. Her future is super bright.
"Being a veteran and being in the seat for a long, long time, it's pretty cool to see that and going into the future." Clark has also weathered the storm with the Fever, as it took six attempts for her to finally record a win in the WNBA. The Fever were previously 1-8, but have since turned things around and are currently 8-12.
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