Caitlin Clark was knocked to the ground by an Ohio State women’s basketball fan who rushed the court seconds after Sunday’s game concluded. Afterward, Clark and head coach Lisa Bluder complained about what they saw as a dangerous situation but confirmed the guard didn’t sustain serious injuries.

“I’m OK,” Clark told reporters after the overtime loss and subsequent incident. “Great environment, these are the games you love to play in obviously, 18,000 people here. I can see they’re storming the court, which is totally fine and good for their students. Great win for them.

“I was just trying to exit the court as quickly as possible, so I started running and I was absolutely just hammered by someone trying to run onto the court and basically blindsided. Kind of scary. Could have caused a pretty serious injury to me, and it knocked the wind out of me. Luckily, my teammates picked me up and got me off the court.”

“Their [athletic director] already came and apologized to me, so I really appreciate that,” Clark added.

Meanwhile, Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said: “Our players should be safe. They should be able to walk off the floor. That’s very disappointing.”

Clark left the floor after Iowa’s shock defeat to the Buckeyes when a fan holding a phone collided with the WNBA prospect, causing her fall to the ground. The individual who knocked down Clark immediately got back to their feet and looked to blend in with the rest of the crowd and did not look back to see who was knocked over.

Bluder, though, claimed there were also insults hurled at Clark by opposing fans.

“It’s unfortunate the game ended that way and Caitlin gets taken out on the floor, gets some inappropriate words yelled at her by fans, by students,” the coach said. “That should not happen. Our players should be safe. They should be able to walk off the floor. That’s very disappointing.

“Our players getting injured trying to walk out of the gym, that’s wrong.”

Late in the game, Clark missed a few shots she’d like to have back including an airball in overtime with the contest almost out of reach. Still, she finished with 45 points.

It was just the second loss on the season for Iowa Clark is projected to be the number one overall pick in the WNBA Draft this year, but does have the option to return for an additional college in 2025 – with no decision yet made.