In her latest court appearance, Caitlin Clark scored 29 points in just under twenty-three minutes, putting herself in the top twenty of Division I’s all-time scoring record. But that’s not how the game ended for the Iowa superstar. She shoved and left a defender on the floor. The move created ruckus and earned her team a technical foul.
The No. 5 Iowa women’s basketball team dominated the Purdue Fort-Wayne Mastodons throughout the opening round of the Gulf Coast Showcase, winning 98-59 at Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida, on Friday night. Both teams engaged in a back-and-forth three-point shooting contest early on in the game. However, the Iowa had the last laugh.
Caitlin Clark Created Commotion
Caitlin Clark was penalized for an intentional foul, a “two-hand push”, on defender Erin Woodson in the middle of the game. Clark made contact with Woodson as she attempted to create space before halftime. A more substantial collision followed right in front of the Mastodons bench, which infuriated the PFW coaching staff since they thought it was a dirty action.
https://twitter.com/WNBAtalk/status/1728968766414041300?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1728968766414041300%7Ctwgr%5E5df7384e95493af9ce0b3b0abec6b87346ec87c9%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.essentiallysports.com%2Fncaa-college-basketball-news-watch-caitlin-clark-shoves-defender-with-both-hands-allegedly-fueled-by-corn-girl-remark%2F
To her defense, Clark claimed that she pushed Erin after she made a “corn girl” remark over her, which infuriated her. “Too far? Erin Woodson allegedly called Iowa star Caitlin Clark “corn girl” and “cracker barrel” (according to lip-reading by @CWilliamson44), leading to the shove in the 2nd quarter. Clark was given an intentional foul. Should we punish players for sticking up for themselves?”
Following the second incident, Woodson—the daughter of former Division I men’s college basketball referee Tracy Woodson—hit the court after Clark called an aggressive foul. Nevertheless, the officials raised the call to an intentional foul after looking at the action on the courtside monitor.
A night to remember for Clark’s camp
With eight field goals, six three-pointers, and seven free throws from the line, Clark concluded the game with an easy 29 points in a season-low 23 minutes. Despite five mistakes, she had eight assists. Her two posts came in the scoring effort.
A center for the University of Iowa women’s basketball team, Sharon Goodman concluded with a nearly flawless effort in the paint, scoring 16 on 6-of-7 from the field with four free throws, while Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke finished with 13 points on 6-of-10 from the field and eight rebounds.
Despite the technical foul and the fuss over it, fans reckon that Caitlin Clark pushed Erin in order to defend herself from being verbally attacked.
Let us know your thoughts on the technical foul called on Caitlin for defending herself.
