The Hawkeyes star narrowly avoided injury as giddy Buckeyes fans stormed the court in Columbus to celebrate the upset.
Sunday’s Iowa-Ohio State women’s basketball matchup ended with the No. 18 Buckeyes upsetting the No. 2 Hawkeyes in overtime at Columbus. That led to a scary moment when Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark was knocked down by a fan as a giddy Buckeyes crowd stormed the Schottenstein Center court.
Clark wasn’t injured by the collision but stayed on the floor for a few minutes, and security eventually helped her back to the locker room. Speaking to reporters afterward, Clark acknowledged the moment was frightening but was grateful she didn’t get seriously hurt.
“It was kinda scary. It could’ve caused a pretty serious injury to me and knocked the wind out of me,” said Clark. “But their AD [Gene Smith] already came and apologized to me, so I really appreciate that. It was just what comes with the territory.”
Caitlin Clark says she’s ok now after getting blindsided by a fan trying to storm the court. She fell hard and mentioned she got the wind knocked out of her. pic.twitter.com/V8SzpsCDMU
— Kellyanne Stitts (@KellyanneStitts) January 21, 2024
As Clark explained, the situation appeared to be handled well under the circumstances. Help arrived to get her off the court and out of harm’s way as more fans ran onto the floor. Clark did get the wind knocked out of her, but fortunately that was all.
Still, it’s cause for concern and caution when fans storm the court, as exciting a moment as that can be for fans after a big upset. Fortunately, nothing serious occurred here, but the risk is real.
