Is Kate Martin playing tonight against Vinyl BC? Latest on Laces star guard's status

Former Iowa Hawkeyes guard Kate Martin has been quite busy for the past year. Between her final trip to the NCAA Tournament, her rookie season in the WNBA and her maiden voyage in Unrivaled, Martin has had plenty of mileage in a relatively short time.

On Friday, her Unrivaled team, Laces BC, takes on Vinyl BC for just the second time. Will Martin be suiting up for this game? To date, there is no official confirmation whether the 6-foot guard will return to action or remain sidelined.

The last time Martin saw action on the floor for Laces was on Feb. 1. On that night, the team lost to Rose BC 83-69. In 12 minutes of game time, Martin had eight points, six rebounds, one steal and no turnovers.

Since then, Laces has played three games without their backup point guard. In these games, the team has gone 1-2, suffering setbacks to Lunar Owls BC and Mist BC. Before the Laces' Feb. 18 game against Phantom, the team's injury report listed Martin as out due to a concern with her left leg.

In addition, Laces incurred another loss on their record when the league cancelled their Feb. 8 matchup against Vinyl BC. In light of Laces' injury-riddled roster, Unrivaled awarded an 11-0 victory to Vinyl and announced the cancellation "to prioritize player health and safety."

Kate Martin was one of the players unavailable for Laces that night. Heading into Friday's matchup against Vinyl, her status remains up in the air.

Kate Martin on reaping benefits of popularity: "We shouldn't feel sorry for getting things that we deserve"

Despite time missed in recent weeks due to injury, Martin remains one of the most popular players on the WNBA and Unrivaled scene. From the looks of it, she knows exactly what she has earned as an emerging figure in women's basketball.

On a live recording of the "A Touch More" podcast earlier this month, Martin discussed the fruits of fame with co-hosts Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe.

"I feel grateful that I've come in at the time that I have," Martin said. "With the landscape of how sports has changed and everything is like...we shouldn't feel sorry for getting things that we deserve, that people before us have been fighting for, for so long."

Kate Martin's confidence is one of the many intangibles that has endeared her to fans since her college days.