Caitlin Clark reacts to Indiana OT victory, Kelsey Mitchell heroics

Caitlin Clark continues to rest her nagging groin injury on the Indiana Fever bench after missing her 13th game this season in Sunday’s 99-93 overtime win over the Conneticut Sun in Uncasville, Conn. But while the injury continues to keep her off the court, it hasn’t stopped her social media game.

In a series of posts to X/Twitter after Sunday’s overtime win, the 23-year-old Clark praised her team’s effort — “Battled battled battled. So proud (heart emjoi)” — and gushed over the sensational play of Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell, who scored 34 of her career-high-tying 38 points after halftime against the Sun.

Mitchell’s effort certainly didn’t go unnoticed by Clark, who called her the team’s “MVP” in another excited post Sunday afternoon. The 29-year-old Mitchell has been a saving grace for the Fever this season, providing dynamic scoring from all over the court while helping fill in for Clark’s loss in offensive production during her time on the bench.

Mitchell actually accounted for all of Indiana’s points during a 10-4 run to open the overtime period, including back-to-back 3-pointers — before a Lexie Hull corner-3 put the Fever ahead 97-90 inside the closing minute of overtime, according to ESPN.

Indiana rallied back from 21 points down after struggling in the first half Sunday, and improved to 19-16 on the season thanks to a 47-30 run between the fourth quarter and overtime period.

Of course, the Fever didn’t leave Conneticut unscathed as Indiana star Sophie Cunningham suffered a significant right knee in a second-quarter collision with Sun guard Bria Hartley and would not return.

Sophie Cunningham injury: Family calls out WNBA, Bria Hartley following controversial collision vs. Sun

Sophie Cunningham‘s family in now coming to her defense after the Indiana Fever superstar was sent to the locker room early with a knee injury Sunday vs. the Conneticut Sun. Cunningham’s mother and sister both took to social media Sunday to blast the WNBA, its officials and the Sun guard Bria Hartley for her history of playing “out of control.”

The injury occurred when Hartley collided into Cunningham on a drive to the basket. Hartley seemingly fell onto the lower part of Cunningham’s right leg, causing the Fever star to immediately grab her knee before being helped to the Fever locker room.

Not long after the injury occurred, Cunningham’s sister Lindsey challenged the WNBA to “focus less on fining players for commenting on your poor officiating & more about hiring officials that are able to call a consistent game and protect your athletes. Pathetic. Praying for you .@sophaller.”

Cunningham’s mother, Paula, directed her ire at Hartley, describing her as “a disgruntled player having trouble everywhere she goes; she’s plain mean and plays out of control.”

Cunningham is a fan favorite in Indiana. Her energy on the court and hilarious personality off it has endeared her to fans. Cunningham has also earned Indiana fans’ respect by never hesitating to defend Caitlin Clark from critics.