Despite not playing heavy minutes for the Las Vegas Aces this season, rookie guard Kate Martin has still had to navigate through the dizzying heights of life in the WNBA. Martin’s former Iowa teammate, Caitlin Clark, has also gone through an incredibly rapid rise now that she’s turned pro, which is at an entirely different level as compared to Martin.
On Tuesday, ahead of the Aces’ Game 2 semifinal showdown against the New York Liberty, Martin was asked by a reporter about her transition to the WNBA and how her days with Clark in Iowa helped develop her ability to block out the noise. “Our attention and the following at Iowa the last couple of years was at a pinnacle – most viewed game, we were a part of a lot of those,” Martin said. “And so I think just having that experience, I mean, we also had very famous people sitting courtside.
I still am in awe whenever I see Steph Curry sitting courtside, or Lebron James, or anybody sitting courtside. Like, that’s super cool. But, I’m glad that I got to experience that while I was in college as well. Because it’s been a smooth transition.
There was a lot of attention on Clark even before she came to the WNBA. In fact, the former Hawkeyes superstar is widely considered one of the most popular and most established college players of all time. The fact that she set the all-time NCAA scoring record during her time in Iowa is a clear testament to this fact.
For her part, it was anything but a free ride for Martin in Iowa alongside Clark. Martin played an important role for the Hawkeyes as well, earning herself a spot in the All-Big Ten team during her senior year. Martin went on to explain that the unprecedented heights she reached in Iowa alongside Clark played a pivotal role in preparing her for life in the WNBA. “I think just knowing the attention that we got in Iowa and how to handle that, and we’ve talked through that,” she said. “It’s a learning experience, it’s a learning curve. So not just coming to the WNBA and be hit with that right away. Being able to deal with that before has definitely helped.”
Martin was a healthy DNP (did not play) again on Tuesday as the Aces suffered an 88-84 loss against the Liberty in Game 2 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The two-time defending champs are now down 2-0 in this best-of-five series, and they will need to win the remaining three games of this semifinal clash if they want to progress to the WNBA Finals. The good news for Martin and the Aces is that the series now shifts to Las Vegas for Games 3 and 4 before they play Game 5 back in New York. It goes without saying, however, that the Aces will need to win Game 3 on Friday in order to extend the series. A loss will be the end of the line for them and their quest for a three-peat.
