Iowa's Caitlin Clark injured in Ohio State court storming following Sunday upset
As hundreds of Ohio State students descended upon the Buckeye basketball court following the win over No. 2 Iowa, one fan collided hard into Hawkeye superstar Caitlin Clark, sending her straight to the floor.
Clark hung 45 points in the overtime thriller as Iowa came up just short on the road against 18th-ranked Ohio State. But on her way out, she was ran into by a fan and appeared hurt after falling down.
Here was video of the collision:
A crowd immediately gathered around Caitlin Clark after she went down. But eventually, she made her way off the court and into the tunnel. An Ohio State reporter, Patrick Murphy, tweeted that Clark appeared to be in some pain as she walked back:
“Something happened with Caitlin Clark at the end of the game and she had to be helped off the court. Appeared to be on a lot of pain/distress.”
Here was that post and his pic of Clark making her exit with the help of her teammates:
Clark says she was NOT injured in postgame
In the postgame press conference following the Hawkeyes’ overtime loss, Clark had the following to share on the court-storming collision:
“It was kind of scary — could have caused a pretty serious injury to me and (it) knocked the wind out of me. But luckily, my teammates picked me up and got me off the court. And (Ohio State’s) AD already came and apologized to me, so I really appreciate that.”
She continued, explaining that protocols could have been better enforced but she understands the risk of a court-storming comes with playing in such a high-profile game.
“You know, this is what comes with the territory. I mean, I’m sure they tried their best to do whatever they could. Obviously, it didn’t work and that’s disappointing, but you know, just focus now on the game and, you know, ways we can get better.”
According to Ohio State reporter Patrick Murphy, Clark even said she was understanding of the court storming following the Buckeyes’ upset victory.
“Caitlin Clark said it was a great atmosphere at the Schott. She said it was totally fine that Ohio State fans stormed the court but she was blindsided by a fan,” wrote Murphy in a tweet. “She said she’s okay and athletic director Gene Smith already came to apologize to her.”
Murphy also detailed the following news out of the Ohio State press conference:
“Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff began his press conference by apologizing to Caitlin Clark for what happened after the game. He said they had security in place but some fans beat them to the court. He hopes Clark is okay and this doesn’t impact her the rest of the year.”