Caitlin Clark's classy response to Chennedy Carter foul did include a subtle jab

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever picked up their second win of the season on Saturday against Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky. The renewed rivalry between the two former college stars took a surprising turn when Clark was hip-checked by Chennedy Carter of the Sky.

The foul was undoubtedly a cheap shot at the rookie Clark, though it should be noted that it wasn't necessarily out of nowhere. Clark and Carter has been smack talking all game long. While cameras caught the climax of said battle, Clark played her part in the conflict as well.

Carter refused to answer questions on Clark or her foul after the game, though she did make plenty of noise on social media. As for Clark, she answered in classy fashion, all the while taking a subtle jab at Carter. Clark said Carter's foul was "not a basketball play," and followed that up by describing how surprised she was in the moment.

"Yeah, I wasn't expecting that," Clark said. "But it's just like, respond, calm down and let your play do the talking. It is what it is. It's a physical game, go make the free throw and then execute on offense. Feel like that's what we did."

Caitlin Clark took a subtle shot at Chennedy Carter for hard foul

Clark was all about the end result, rather than getting bogged down in the moment. The foul occurred in a close game, and thus Clark was able to add to the Fever's six-point lead by taking advantage of the flagrant-1 foul called against Carter.

"It is what it is," Clark said. "I feel like I'm just at the point where you accept it and don't retaliate. Just let them hit you, be what it is, don't let it get in your head and know it's coming. I think at this point, I know I'm gonna take a couple hard shots a game, and that's what it is. 

As Clark says, retaliating in any way will play right into her opponent's hand, and in some cases eliminate her from the game entirely. Clark has taken the league by storm as a rookie, and brought with her a number of new fans that should help the women's game grow.

At the same time, it's easy to understand why some of the WNBA's greatest veteran stars would express some frustration at what they perceive as unwarranted attention at the professional level.