Caitlin Clark Returns from Injury but Fever Lose 107-104 to Wings in Opener

Caitlin Clark returned from injury for the Indiana Fever's WNBA season opener on Saturday but finished with a 107-104 loss to the Dallas Wings. She missed two late shots that could have tied the game.

Afterward, Clark indicated that officials overlooked some fouls against her. "I think especially if they're going to call it the way they're going to call it this year, I think I honestly could have probably got a couple more calls on a few of them, but that's okay," she told reporters when asked about her drives to the basket.

Debate over whether referees call enough fouls on Clark has persisted since her 2024 WNBA debut. Fans have complained that opponents often hit her hard and that officials fail to protect her.

Clark has criticized referees before. In the WNBA postseason last September, while sidelined by injury, she said the league fined her $200 for a tweet reading "Refs couldn’t stop us" after Indiana's Game 2 win over Atlanta in the first round. "Got fined $200 for this lol," she posted on X with crying laughter emojis. She added, "BENCH MOB WILL BE EVEN MORE ROWDY TOMORROW LETS GOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Last July, Clark argued with referees during a game against the Connecticut Sun. ESPN cameras caught her saying, "Are you f----ing kidding me?" as Fever assistant Briann January pulled her back to the bench. As officials reviewed replay, Clark yelled again: "That’s just rude. Grow up. Come here, come here. Unbelievable."

Her coach and teammates have voiced similar frustrations. After a disputed no-call on Clark against the New York Liberty last May, Fever head coach Stephanie White criticized the officiating. "I thought she got fouled. I think it's pretty egregious what's been happening to us the last few games," White said. "The disrespect right now for our team has been pretty unbelievable. So, it's disappointing, you know, that it doesn't go both ways, or it hasn't gone both ways."

Fever guard Sophie Cunningham also faulted referees last June after a brawl against the Sun. "During that, it was just part of the game. I think the refs had a lot to do with that. It was a build-up for a couple years now of them just not protecting the star player of the WNBA," she said. "At the end of the day, I'm going to protect my teammates. That's what I do."