Disaster nearly struck for Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday in a scary scene.
After No. 18 Ohio State upset No. 2 Iowa in overtime in Columbus, 100-92, Buckeyes fans stormed the court to celebrate the victory.
Amid the chaos, Clark and a fan collided hard, sending women’s college basketball’s best player crashing to the court.
Several people went to check on Clark after the collision, but fortunately, she told reporters after the incident that she was OK.
“It was kind of scary,” Clark told reporters after the game. “Could’ve caused a pretty serious injury to me and knocked the wind out of me, but luckily my teammates picked me up and got me off the court.”
Clark said Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith apologized to her afterward.
Clark scored a season-high 45 points in the loss, which was just Iowa’s second of the season, making 12 of 25 shots while adding seven assists, three rebounds, two steals, a block and seven turnovers.
The Hawkeyes had won 15 straight games before Sunday’s loss; their only other loss came at home against Kansas State on Nov. 16.
Clark leads the nation with 31 points per game and 5.1 3-pointers made per game, and she’s second in assists at 7.7 per game.
Clark is widely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick to the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft in April.