Caitlin Clark, Fever Trolled by Mercury and Sophie Cunningham's IG Story Goes Viral amid Controversy

There was no shortage of fallout Wednesday night following the Phoenix Mercury's 111-109 win over the Indiana Fever.

Fever superstar guard Caitlin Clark left the game in the third quarter with what the team described as a back injury, but not before being on the wrong end of a controversial play during the second quarter.

As seen at the 3:45 mark of the game's highlight video, Clark went down to the court when three Mercury players collapsed down on her. Upon further review, Alyssa Thomas appeared to press her fist against Clark's throat before getting up and stepping over her:

No foul was called, and Fever head coach Stephanie White was furious after the game, calling it "absolutely unacceptable."

White later told reporters that the play was "absolutely egregious and utterly disrespectful."

Meanwhile, the Mercury appeared to troll Clark and the Fever with the following animation in a post on X:

Fever guard Sophie Cunningham went viral after the game with a late-night post on her Instagram Stories, as she coped with the loss by eating cinnamon rolls:

While it is unclear if the controversial play in the second quarter contributed to Clark's injury and eventual exit from the game, the Fever were without their top player in key moments regardless.

Clark had 19 points and eight assists in 20 minutes, but without her on the floor, the Fever were outscored 29-24 in the fourth quarter.

The defeat dropped Indiana to 10-8 on the season, and it has now lost three of its past four games.

While there is still plenty of time to rebound, frustration is clearly mounting for a team that was widely expected to be among the best in the WNBA and a potential championship contender.