Caitlin Clark struggles to ‘control her emotions’ after being beaten and not getting penalized with fouls

Caitlin Clark didn’t get the fouls she was looking for in the Indiana Fevers’ 99-88 loss to the Minnesota Linx on Friday.

After the game, Clark spoke about instances where she was hit by opposing players but the referee didn’t blow the whistle. Clark said those moments took an emotional toll on her that she hopes to better control.

“I think I got fouled a couple times in the second half on mid-range jump shots,” Clark said. “That happens. Sometimes they get penalties, sometimes they don’t. That’s just the way it is. I think I settled a little too much on mid-range jump shots, but I think I got hit a little bit, and I was honestly trying to fake them out so they would foul me.”

“I mean, I think I could have done a little better at controlling my own emotions.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

But Clark added that she doesn’t believe her emotions need to change.

“I think there’s a limit and sometimes passion and emotion can get to you,” Clark said. “But it’s never something I would change, nor would any of our team change.”

At one point in the game during the third quarter, Clark was knocked to the ground by Minnesota player Napheesa Collier. Collier’s arms appeared to hit Clark in the head and shoulders as Clark tried to score in the paint.

The referees didn’t call a foul on Collier, and Clark lay on the ground with her arms spread out at her sides.

Clark didn’t have the courage to get up and the Lynx managed to come back on the counterattack and score. That score put the Fever in a 10-point hole from which they never got out.

Clark’s coach Christie Sides also addressed the incident after the game.

“When she gets upset or angry, that’s what we’ve been working on, trying to figure out how to overcome those moments,” Sides said. “She’s got to learn that in those moments, I need my point guard to keep her head down, get us in the game on offense, and if it’s not a foul you think it is, you’ve got to get back.”

“There is a reaction to everything we do, and we have to make sure we don’t put ourselves in an even worse situation with these kinds of moments.”

Clark has had to manage her emotions quickly since arriving in the WNBA when it comes to hard fouls.

Last week, Chicago Sky player Diamond DeShields sent Clark flying onto the court for a foul that was later reclassified as a flagrant-1. After the game, DeShields posted a screenshot of his Instagram notifications list, which included a series of hateful comments from a user.

On June 1, Clark suffered an infamous illegal hip butt from Chicago Sky forward Chennedy Carter. Carter declined to answer questions about the incident at the post-game press conference, but took to social media to repeatedly criticize Clark.

Sky rookie Angel Reese hit Clark in the head with her arm while trying to block a pass during a game on June 16.

Former NBA All-Star Joakim Noah believes the Fever should look to solve the problem by signing a player who can counter physical opponents in Clark.

WNBA ICON SHERYL SWOOPES EXPLAINS CAITLIN CLARK’S FALSE STATEMENTS, SPEAKS OUT AGAINST EX-GIRLFRIEND NANCY LIEBERMAN

“If I was the owner of the Indiana Fever, I would send a real enforcer to protect them,” Noah told Fox News Digital during an interview at “NBA Night” in the Emirates Suite at the U.S. Open in New York on Wednesday.

Noah acknowledged that Clark can be hit by opposing players because they are aware of the talent she brings as a difference-maker on the court.

“Sometimes I feel like she gets beat up because she’s a very talented person,” he said. “But at the end of the day, our business is to win games, so if I’m the owner (of the Indiana Fever), I’m going to have a real workhorse out there.”

However, Noah believes the physical treatment Clark received was beneficial for the WNBA.

“I think it’s great,” Noah said when asked about the fouls against Chicago. “I think it’s entertainment.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

ESPN anchor Holly Rowe expressed a similar sentiment to Noah in an interview with Fox News Digital last month.

“I think it’s good for the game,” Rowe said. “I like it because it’s supposed to be salty, that’s what makes it competitive, that’s what makes it a sport.”

Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley spoke out against players who undermined the positive attention Clark’s rookie season brought to the WNBA this year during an appearance on the “Bill Simmons Podcast” Wednesday.

“These ladies, and I’m a WNBA fan, couldn’t have screwed up this Caitlin Clark thing any more if they tried,” Barkley said on the show“This girl is incredible,” Barkley said. “She gets attention, she gets stares, in college and in the pros, and these women get this little jealousy, and you’re like, ‘Oh my, what’s going on here?’”

Follow Fox News Digital sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.