Indiana Fever stars Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston both left late due to injury in Sunday’s loss 104-68 blowout loss to the New York Liberty. Fever coach Christie Sides was asked for an update on both postgame, but didn’t have have much to say other than identifying what the injuries were.
“I haven’t had a chance to get with (trainer) Todd (Champlin) yet,” Sides said. “He was still evaluating them when I went back there. Aliyah was an ankle with an ear. I don’t know anything other than that.”
Clark exited the game for the final time at the 6:29 mark, while Boston left with 5:33 to go. They played a total of 29 and 26 minutes, respectively, in the contest.
Indiana already trailed by nearly 30 points entering the fourth quarter and some questioned the decision from Sides to continue to play Clark and Boston with the game out of hand. The Fever have played 11 games thus far, two more than any other WNBA team, including four within the past five days.
Asked the reasoning for why she continued to play her starters despite the way the game was trending, Sides explained that both Clark and Boston wanted to continue playing.
“They wanted to fight,” she said. “They wanted to get in that game and try to make up, try to get the game closer than it was. They have pride, too. They wanted to get in there and keep fighting. So that was the reason.”
Sides has not been shy about playing her stars big minutes throughout the season thus far. Clark and Boston rank first and third, respectively, in total minutes played, with Clark’s 33.4 per game also ranking 10th in the WNBA
The coach was asked whether or not she had a conversation with either player about staying in the game.
“No dialogue,” she said. “We just kept fighting. They were fighting until we decided that was good. Aliyah got hurt and Caitlin as well, but we were trying to find ways to put the ball in the hole. Get some stops, put the ball in the hole and get on a run.”
We’ll now await further injury news on Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston with the Fever’s next game scheduled for Friday against the Washington Mystics.
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