Last time when Caitlin Clark took up court against the Connecticut Sun, she had an eye poked and the Fever were kicked out of the playoffs in the first round. So, when CC entered the court once again a year later to take up the same team with some new faces, she ensured to have an impact. And she did exactly that. But, it wasn’t really so easy!

Since it was just Game 2 after Caitlin Clark’s return from injury, the Indiana Fever sensation looked as dominant as ever, especially after her 32-point effort in the previous outing. But the Connecticut Sun, hovering at the bottom of the league, weren’t going to make it easy. They applied tight pressure on Clark all night, with Jacy Sheldon leading the charge.

However, things took a turn when Clark had a heated encounter with her former collegiate rival. It started in the second quarter, when both players exchanged words and Clark gave Sheldon a push before teammates and officials stepped in. It looked like the fire from their college days had reignited, but then Marina Mabrey entered the scene.

While tensions cooled briefly, the third quarter saw things escalate again. Sheldon, playing aggressive defense, poked Clark in the eye as she tried to deny her a shot. Clark, frustrated, shoved Sheldon in response, only for Sun’s Tina Charles to step in. But it was Mabrey’s entry into the fray that truly turned the moment chaotic. She came in and knocked Clark to the floor.

Players and officials quickly intervened to break up the scuffle. The result? Technical fouls were handed to Charles, Mabrey, and Clark, while Sheldon received a flagrant 1 foul. For most players, two consecutive hits would be enough to throw off their rhythm. But Clark isn’t just another player.

She didn’t let the moment define her, sort of mocking Sheldon with her skills and the following gesture to the crowd. When asked about the flex, she simply said, “No, I mean, at the end of the day, I’m here to play basketball, and that’s my job. That’s what I’m going to do. I was excited. Honestly, the review took too long for me. I wanted to get playing basketball again, and that’s exactly what I did the rest of the third quarter”. 

And she meant every word. With around four minutes left in the fourth quarter, Clark buried a deep three-pointer as Sheldon scrambled to close out, missing two three-pointers in the final five minutes before getting ejected. The shot pushed the Fever’s lead to 20 and put an exclamation point on their 88–71 win. “I made all three free throws, and it was a tough three. I was excited about the three,” Clark added, rubbing salt in wounds unintentionally. But that wasn’t the only way she did that.

After her 3-pointer and after saying some words to Sheldon, Clark turned to fire up the crowd, something she’s quickly become known for. Clark let everyone in the Sun know about it, and Sheldon wasn’t too pleased. As the announcer described it, “Jacy Sheldon is there with her hand in her face“. And in the end, it all paid off. She finished with 20 points, going a perfect 4-for-4 from the line in just 29 minutes of action. That’s why Clark isn’t just one of the most talked-about players in the WNBA; she’s already one of its most beloved. And if you needed more proof, her fired-up postgame Instagram story said it all.

Caitlin Clark teases opponents even after the game!

After the third-quarter scuffle made all the headlines and the game wrapped up, Caitlin Clark quickly shifted her focus to something much bigger. She forgot about the hits and instead zeroed in on the Indiana Fever’s dominant 88–71 win over the Connecticut Sun, a victory that punched their ticket to the Commissioner’s Cup championship. And to mark the moment, Clark took to Instagram and uploaded a story by reposting a game-day photo of herself fired up on the court.

“You like that,” read the caption. Well, that phrase alone was enough to tease the opponents, especially since CC not just nailed it but also grabbed a significant win. And it is very understandable, too. The Indiana Fever held onto its wits the entire game, so they deserve a little haughty celebration. As Natasha Howard put it, “And, uh, we already knew what Connecticut, uh, Connecticut was going to come out and do it, but at the end of the day, we stayed level ahead, and we fought together as a team, and we came up with the victory”. 

So, now that Clark is back in her dominant mode, she’s making it clear proving no physicality can stop her.