Caitlin Clark collides with fan in ‘kind of scary’ moment during
..court storm
Iowa player Caitlin Clark, who was part of the crowd that stormed the court following Ohio State’s 100-92 overtime victory over the Hawkeyes on Sunday in Columbus, said she was unharmed despite being “blindsided” in a frightening collision with a fan.
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Film reveals that Clark, who scored 45 points in the No. 2 Iowa team’s defeat to the No. 18 Buckeyes, bumped with the fan as she was leaving the court. Both tumbled to the Schottenstein Center floor, and while the other got up and joined the crowd, Clark was assisted in getting back up by teammates. Following that, Clark, the country’stop scorer, said to reporters that although she wasn’t hurt, the violent fall had momentarily taken her breath away.
“It was evident to me that they were storming the court, which is excellent for their pupils and a huge victory for them. In the postgame press conference, Clark stated, “I was just trying to get off the court as quickly as possible, so I started running. I was absolutely just hammered by somebody trying to run onto the court and basically blindsided, and [that’s] kind of scary.” “May have knocked the wind out of me and caused a pretty serious injury, but fortunately my teammates picked me up and helped me off the court.”
“I genuinely appreciate that [Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith] came and apologized to me. This is a natural part of the territory. Certainly, they made an effort.best to take any action they could. It’s terrible that it obviously didn’t work, but let’s now concentrate on the game and how we can improve.
Coach Lisa Bluder of Iowa informed reporters that Monday will mark Clark’s 22nd birthday, and that he had also received some verbal abuse.
It’s sad that Caitlin was taken out of the game and that students and supporters yelled offensive things at her before the game finished. That simply ought not to occur. Bluder, who saw his club lose for just the second time this season, stated that it shouldn’t have happened. “Our athletes ought to be secure. They ought to be able to get up off the ground. That is really disheartening.
Given her prominence, Clark usually has protection, but when more fans descended from the stands, scores of Ohio State supporters—among them the team’s mascot—rushed to midcourt. The 18,660-person turnout broke the Ohio State record and wasthe biggest at any of this season’s indoor college basketball games for women.
Kevin McGuff, the Ohio State coach, admitted to reporters, “I feel really badly.” I hope she’s alright and that it won’t affect her in any way going forward. That is very regrettable. I truly detest that, but gosh, Caitlin is such a terrific player; that shouldn’t happen to anyone.
