After pouring in 37 points in the Indiana Fever’s dominant 113-90 victory, a close up image of Caitlin Clark began circulating on social media showing her left arm covered in long, visible scratch marks. They were difficult to miss. On a night defined by breathtaking shooting and another piece of WNBA history, the marks on her skin offered a much more painful picture of the physical toll that can come with being one of the league’s most closely guarded players.

Clark finished with 37 points, 10 assists and three rebounds while hitting a career-high eight three-pointers on just 12 attempts. The numbers were extraordinary, but perhaps even more remarkable was how routinely she has begun producing them. It was the fifth game of her career with at least 30 points and 10 assists, more than the rest of the WNBA has combined for in league history, according to the Fever.

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Caitlin Clark’s arm tells a different story

Yet after the final buzzer, it wasn’t only Clark’s shooting that had people talking. The image of her scratched arm quickly attracted attention, providing a stark contrast to the smiles, highlights and statistics that normally follow a performance like this. The box score showed 37 points. Her arm showed some of the physical punishment that doesn’t appear anywhere in those numbers.

That kind of attention is nothing new for Clark. Throughout her first three seasons in the WNBA, defenders have tried to disrupt her rhythm with aggressive pressure, grabs and hard contact.

This season has brought more heated moments, including an incident involving Alyssa Thomas and a recent battle with Paige Bueckers in which the Dallas guard grabbed Clark’s arm while trying to draw a foul.

Fever teammate Sophie Cunningham has also earned a reputation for stepping in when the physicality around Clark begins to boil over. It has fueled an ongoing conversation around the Fever star: how much contact is simply part of professional basketball, and when does physical defense cross the line?

Clark rarely needs to say much for that debate to continue. On Sunday, she answered in the way she usually does with the basketball in her hands. Indiana completed a 3-2 road trip, Kelsey Mitchell added 30 points and Chicago was officially eliminated from playoff contention.

But long after the final score, that image remained. Clark’s 37 points showed what she was capable of doing to the Sky. The marks across her arm offered a painful glimpse at what she may have absorbed along the way.