UNCASVILLE, Conn. (WISH) — Caitlin Clark played her first WNBA playoff game with a black eye.

The Indiana Fever guard and unanimous Rookie of the Year was hit in the right eye as the Connecticut Sun’s DiJonai Carrington went up to block her pass at the 8:27 mark in the first quarter Sunday. No foul was called, and Clark returned to the court after a brief timeout. But that’s not where the story stopped.

Users on X and other social media platforms sent an alternative angle of the incident viral — claiming that Carrington intentionally poked Clark in the eye.

Both players responded to the vitriol during practice sessions at the Mohegan Sun Arena Tuesday.

“It wasn’t intentional by any means,” Clark said, laughing off the question. “You can just watch the play. It wasn’t intentional.”

Carrington denied that any of it was intentional.

“I don’t even know why I would intend to hit someone in the eye. That just doesn’t make sense to me,” Carrington said. “I didn’t know I hit her, actually. I was trying to make a play on the ball, and I guess, I followed through, and I hit her. Obviously, it’s never intentional. That’s not even like the type of player that I am.”

Clark said Tuesday that her eye is feeling — and looking — much better. She’s focused on evening the series against the Sun and forcing a series-deciding Game 3 back in Indianapolis.

“I don’t want this to end,” Clark said. “I feel like it’s been a very special year for our organization, and our goal was to get to the playoffs, but everyone in our locker room believes we can really win this series. Obviously, the first game didn’t go how we wanted it to, but you got to learn from it. You’ve got to flush it. You can’t let that dictate Game 2. This is obviously a must win for us and we believe we can come in here and win that.”

The Fever tip off against the Sun at 7:30 p.m. ET in Connecticut. News 8 is on the road with the team for its first playoffs appearance since 2016. Stick with WISH-TV for live pregame and postgame coverage from Mohegan Sun and exclusive content online and on the All Indiana Sports app.