Caitlin Clark to miss WNBA Commissioner's Cup title game for Fever with groin injury
Clark did not appear to be present during the team's shootaround Tuesday, though Fever coach Stephanie White deemed the second-year guard a game-time decision for the contest.
The Fever (8-8) split the back-to-back games Clark missed, first losing to the Los Angeles Sparks. Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana with 20 points in the 85-75 defeat. However, the Fever followed that up with an 94-86 win over the Dallas Wings.
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Unfortunately, Clark's absence deprived WNBA fans of a matchup between the past two No. 1 overall draft picks with Wings star Paige Bueckers. Bueckers scored 27 points in the loss, while Indiana was led by Mitchell's 32 points.
Earlier this season, Clark missed five games with a quad injury suffered after the Fever's first four games of the season. That apparently was separate from a quad issue she dealt with during the preseason, which sidelined her for one contest.
Clark is averaging 18.2 points, 5 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 1.6 steals in nine games thus far through her second WNBA season. She is shooting 26% on 3-pointers (compared to 34% last season), which could be attributed to her leg injuries.
During four years at Iowa and her rookie WNBA season, Clark didn't miss a single game. Getting approximately one month off between the end of her college campaign and the beginning of her professional career was a workload that may be catching up with her. However, she did get time off while the WNBA took a one-month break for the Paris Olympics last summer.
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