THE Indiana Fever’s 89-84 loss to the Washington Mystics proved to be an eventful afternoon for Caitlin Clark.
The WNBA sensation tussled with Mystics guard Julie Vanloo before setting an unwanted turnover record.
Things got chippy between Caitlin Clark and Julie Vanloo in the Indiana Fever’s 89-84 loss to the Washington MysticsCredit: NBA TV
The Fever star shoved Vanloo in the second quarterCredit: NBA TV
Clark played physical against the Mystics guard since early in the gameCredit: NBA TV
The two went at it from the start with Clark, 22, being Vanloo’s matchup on defense.
The Fever star played physical against the 5-foot-8 Belgian to get her first bucket of the night, sending her stumbling backward with an extended arm before knocking down a stepback 3.
Halfway through the second quarter, the Mystics playmaker got right in Clark’s face as Indiana’s Erica Wheeler looked to pass the ball to her superstar teammate outside the 3-point line.
Clark used her arms to push Vanloo away, but the veteran point guard quickly got back in her opponent’s space.
The Fever eventually shoved Vanloo with both of her hands, causing players on both teams to get involved.
Katie Lou Samuelson tried to calm the 6-foot guard down – but to no avail.
Soon after, Clark appeared to be mocking Vanloo for flopping by theatrically throwing her arms up in the air right during a brief verbal exchange between the two.
The incident didn’t escape WNBA fans’ attention.
“This is the Caitlin I want to see, not the classy version the casual fanbase wants to falsely portray,” one commented on X.
“Oh no I love them both. Vanloo ain’t the one to back down. You picking the wrong one CC,” a third said.
“How you mad somebody is DEFENDING you???” one asked.
Clark finished the game with 29 points, five rebounds, 13 assists, five steals, and three blocks.
However, she turned the ball over five times to register her 127th turnover of the season.
By doing so, the Fever star set a new record for most turnovers in a rookie WNBA season, surpassing late Mystics star Nikki McCray.
Cray committed 126 turnovers in 1998.
Clark made WNBA history for the right reasons just a few days earlier.
She became the league’s first-ever rookie to record a triple-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 13 assists in Indiana’s 83-78 win over the New York Liberty on Saturday.
“Obviously, it’s cool,” Clark said of her achievement.
“My teammates have been finishing the ball [at a] really, really high rate.
“My assist numbers, that’s because of them.”
