Caitlin Clark says Chennedy Carter doesn’t owe her an apology: ‘Basketball is competitive, I get it’

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - JUNE 01: Aliyah Boston #7 and Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever celebrate after defeating the Chicago Sky in the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 01, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Indiana Fever star rookie Caitlin Clark said she isn’t looking for an apology from Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter, who hip-checked Clark in the teams’ game Saturday. The foul on Carter was later upgraded to a Flagrant 1 and the play ignited a week of nationwide attention.

“No, I mean basketball is competitive, I get it,” Clark said when asked if she thinks Carter owes her a public apology. “Sometimes your emotions get the best of you. It’s happened to me multiple times throughout the course of my career. People are competitive and it is what it is.”

Rather than rehash last Saturday’s incident, Clark shifted the conversation to praise Carter’s season. The Sky’s fourth-year guard is averaging 13.9 points off the bench while shooting a career-high 53 percent from the field.

“She’s having a tremendous season, she’s played great basketball in my eyes and is probably in first place for Sixth Player of the Year, she’s been great off the bench for them,” Clark said.

 

Chicago players and coaches have answered questions regarding Carter’s foul all week, as Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon told reporters Monday the play was “not appropriate,” and on Wednesday, multiple players shared reports of being harassed as they got off their team bus in Washington D.C.

“That’s just not where my focus is, that’s not what I think about on a day-to-day basis,” Clark said about the foul. “I think about my team, I think about ways that I can get better. It’s just basketball at the end of the day, there’s no grudges, there’s nothing like that. It’s a sport, it’s competitive, it’s not going to be nice all the time, that’s not what basketball is, and I think people that play at the highest level understand that.”

Rather than dwell on the play, Clark said she is more focused on her team’s play. The Fever improved to 3-9 on Friday night with a tight 85-83 win over the winless Washington Mystics.

Clark — who scored just three points against the New York Liberty on Sunday — bounced back with 30 points, eight rebounds and six assists. The 30 points match her career high and her seven 3-pointers were the most of her young career.

“Just keep shooting, that’s what shooters do,” Clark said about overcoming recent struggles and starting the game with a pair of misses. “I thought my teammates set really good screens and I think that just shows when you set and when you screen, no matter what you’re running, even if the other team knows it can still be really effective.

“I was just able to create off of those, and as a shooter once you see one, two go in, the basket just looks bigger and bigger.”

 

Ahead of Friday’s game, Clark acknowledged her struggles and said she hasn’t shot the ball as well as she’d liked but acknowledged the team’s growth and praised the team’s growing chemistry.

She said getting used to the losing has been an adjustment and noted how the Fever are the most inexperienced team in the league.

“It can just be tough at times when you don’t always have the experience,” she said. “But I think one of the biggest positives over the course of these first 11 games is the energy about this group. It’s the same exact (energy) as when we played our first game, there’s a positive attitude every day that we show up and we truly believe every single game we’re going into we’re going to win.”

In Clark’s four years with Iowa, the most games the Hawkeyes lost in a season was 10, a figure she’s already nearing in her rookie season with Indiana.

She also said she’s working on breaking old habits from college and developing new ones that mesh with the Fever’s defensive strategy.

“Overall, I think I’ve played good basketball,” Clark said.