ATLANTA — Initially, it seemed serious, but Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark’s slight ankle twist had little impact in the Fever’s 84-79 victory on Monday evening.

In fact, she felt regretful after watching her reaction to the injury play out. Clark fell after a collision with Atlanta’s Nia Coffey near the free-throw line, just minutes before the end of the first quarter. She stayed on the ground for a while, while her teammates gathered around her as medical staff rushed to assist.

“I reviewed the footage, and I seem really delicate,” Clark shared, prompting laughter from her teammate Kelsey Mitchell and coach Christie Sides. “It wasn’t a severe ankle twist, but it did hurt. Sometimes you just need a moment to regroup. If you’ve ever twisted your ankle, you know that stinging feeling, but I was fine.”

Clark was able to walk to the bench without assistance after the incident, with her ankle getting wrapped while guard Erica Wheeler took her place on the court. She made her return at the start of the second quarter, showing no signs of injury.

“The trainers asked, ‘Do you want to go back and rest?’ and I told them, ‘No, just tape it here, I want to continue,'” Clark recounted. “We need to keep pushing through the game. I’ve sprained my ankles a few times; it’s just part of the sport.”

Ultimately, she played the entire game, logging 37 minutes on the floor. Clark scored 19 points, hitting 6 of 14 shots (including 4 of 9 from beyond the arc), and contributed seven rebounds and seven assists.

Follow Chloe Peterson on X at @chloepeterson67.