There was a scary moment for Indiana Fever, and indeed all basketball fans, when No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark went down clutching her ankle in the second quarter of her team’s 88-84 defeat to the Connecticut Sun on Monday. Clark played down any fears of it being a serious issue after the game. Elsewhere, Sabrina Ionescu ensured the New York Liberty stayed perfect with a win over the Seattle Storm.

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – MAY 20: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever reacts to an injury during the second quarter in the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 20, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Image credit: Getty Images

Caitlin Clark scored 17 points and registered five assists, but also suffered a nasty-looking ankle injury as the Indiana Fever lost their fourth successive game to start the season, going down 88-84 to the Connecticut Sun.

It was Clark’s third game of her WNBA career hitting double digits, but the Sun’s star forward Alyssa Thomas hit 24 points with nine assists and a mammoth 14 rebounds.

Thomas was ably assisted by DeWanna Bonner, who scored 22 points, whilst guards Dijonai Carrington and Tyasha Harris notched 14 and 16 points respectively.

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However, the crunch moment came at the five-minute mark in the second quarter as Clark fell to the ground having rolled her ankle trying to run into a screen from Brionna Jones.

“Yeah, I was worried,” Fever coach Christie Sides admitted after the game.

“A lot worried. But she is tough. She takes hits…She didn’t want anybody to help her off the court, and I love that about her.

“I love that’s what she’s about. She walked it off herself, did what she needed to do to come back in the game.”

Clark would sit out the rest of the second quarter on the bench after a brief trip to the locker room for some taping, but she started out of the half-time break.

The No. 1 draft pick would later say after the game that she didn’t think it was big a deal.

“I turned it pretty good,” Clark said.

“I think it just got caught. I don’t think I stepped on anybody…I don’t have the best ankles in the world, it was a little tight this morning, but nothing really out of the ordinary.

“I felt good, I just wanted to get a lot more tape on it as fast as I could.

“Every basketball player has an ankle injury,

“If you don’t, you’re not a true baller. It’ll be stiff, but I’ll be good.”

Elsewhere, star guard Sabrina Ionescu scored 20 points to help the New York Liberty stay perfect with their fourth win in a row, beating the Seattle Storm 74-63.

Ionescu also registered a game-high eight assists as she tore the Storm apart.

Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart both scored 16 with the latter producing 11 rebounds, whilst Betnijah Laney-Hamilton added 13.

The Storm couldn’t get anything going and now sit 1-3 on the season.