Sky’s leading scorer Chennedy Carter to miss game vs. Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever tonight

The Chicago Sky will be without their leading scorer in the final Fever-Sky matchup of the regular season Friday night.

Chennedy Carter, who averages 17.2 points per game, is out because of health and safety protocols, the Sky announced Friday morning.

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Carter had an altercation with Fever rookie Caitlin Clark in the June 1 matchup, knocking Clark to the ground. The play was ruled an away-from-the-play foul due to it happening before the inbound. A day later, the league office upgraded it to a flagrant foul.

This is the second straight game Carter is out because of those protocols — the Sky canceled practice Tuesday because multiple players were feeling sick, and they went through COVID-19 testing that day, per the Chicago Tribune’s Julia Poe.

No other Sky player is out because of health and safety protocols. The league’s protocols include testing for COVID-19, so players need to return negative tests in order to be cleared.

Sky rookie Angel Reese still wore a mask while talking to media pregame Wednesday, while Diamond DeShields and Lindsay Allen wore masks postgame following a loss to the Mystics.

The Sky are on a post-Olympic break skid, as they have lost five of six since the league restart. At 11-19, Chicago is fighting for the final playoff spot against a surging Atlanta Dream.

The Fever, on the other hand, are 4-1 since the Olympic break. Indiana is 2-1 over Chicago so far this season, but two of those games were decided by one point. A Fever win on Friday would give Indiana a definitive head-to-head advantage over Chicago in the playoff picture.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Chennedy Carter to miss Sky game vs. Caitlin Clark, Fever tonight