COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The best women's college basketball player in the country described a "scary" situation Sunday after she and a fan collided on the court after Ohio State beat Iowa.
Iowa guard Caitlin Clark and an Ohio State fan collided on the court after the Buckeyes' 100-92 upset overtime win over the No. 2 Hawkeyes at Value City Arena. Fan video of the collision can be seen in the player below.
Both were knocked to the ground, and medics checked on Clark while the fan got to their feet and continued celebrating.
For her part, Clark said she was OK physically after the collision.
"I was just trying to exit the court as quickly as possible, so I started running and was absolutely just hammered by somebody trying to run onto the court, and basically, blindsided and kind of scary," Clark said. "[It] could have caused a pretty serious injury to me and knocked the wind out of me, but luckily my teammates kind of picked me up and got me off the court."
Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said the behavior of some Ohio State fans was uncalled for.
"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," Bluder said. "That just should not happen, it should not happen. Our players should be safe, they should be able to walk off the floor. That's very disappointing."
For her part, Clark, who didn't address the comments yelled by fans, said she understands the excitement exhibited by the Buckeye faithful.
"Great environment, obviously," Clark said. "These are the games we love to play in: 18,000 people here. I mean, obviously, I can see their storming the court, which is fine. I mean, good for their students, great win for them."
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith apologized to Clark, she said.
"I'm sure they tried their best to do whatever they could; obviously it didn't work and that's disappointing, but, you know, just focus now on the game and ways we can get better," Clark said.
Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff opened his postgame comments with an apology to Clark, saying it should "never happen."
“I want to apologize to her and their entire program," he said. "She had such a spectacular performance today and she’s such a great player and that should never happen. I feel really badly so hopefully she’s okay and it doesn’t affect her moving forward.”
