Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston got hurt late in blowout loss. Here's why they were still in.
BROOKLYN — There was a simple reason Fever coach Christie Sides put star players and No. 1 picks Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark into a 30-point game in the fourth quarter: They wanted to be in.
"They wanted to fight," Sides said. "They wanted to get in a game and and try to make up — try to make the game closer than it was. They have pride too. They wanted to get in there and keep fighting."
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Unfortunately for the Fever, that resulted in injuries to both players.
Clark checked into the game at the 7:54 mark of the fourth quarter when the Fever were trailing by 30 points, 84-54. She was only in for about a minute before she was hit in the ear on a screen. She checked out of the game with 6:29 left and briefly retreated to the locker room. She returned to the bench with about two minutes left, but did not enter the game again.
Boston entered the game around the seven-minute mark, and she was in for about a minute and a half until there was 5:33 left in the game. While grappling with Liberty backup forward Leonie Fiebich, Boston fell over her and immediately started to clutch her ankle.
After laying on the floor for a short time, Boston stood up and started limping, under her own power, to the locker room. She talked with Fever athletic trainer Todd Champlin before going to the locker room, and she didn't return.
The Fever would go on to lose to the New York Liberty at Barclays Center, 104-68, to fall to 2-9 on the season. Sides didn't have concrete updates on Boston and Clark following the game.
"I haven't had a chance to talk to Todd, he still evaluating them when I went back there," Sides said. "It was Aliyah with an ankle, Caitlin with an ear, that's all. I don't know anything else."
Boston and Clark will have ample time to rest, though, as the Fever don't play again until Friday against the Mystics.
Follow IndyStar Fever Insider Chloe Peterson on X at @chloepeterson67.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston get hurt late in blowout loss to Liberty
