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Kate Martin's friend Claire Gransee was in the crowd at Mohegan Sun Arena as she cheered for the Las Vegas Aces rookie during their game against the Connecticut Sun on Friday. Gransee, who attended the University of Iowa alongside Martin, posted an Instagram photo of the two embracing after the conclusion of the game.
"Mohegan sun af," Gransee wrote in the caption.
The game concluded with Las Vegas clinching a 72-67 win on the road. Kate Martin played just over three minutes and concluded with one point in the game.
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With the win, the Aces improved to a 22-12 record and are placed fourth in the WNBA standings. They have won six of their last 10 games and are riding a four-game winning streak after Friday's victory.
Kate Martin gets honest about WNBA rookie season
After being selected 18th overall in the 2024 WNBA draft, Kate Martin had an impressive start to her rookie season, averaging around 15 minutes per game. However, since the start of the season's second half, Martin's role has decreased drastically, as she averaged just 4.5 minutes in the last eight contests.
During an interview with Desert Wave Media on Monday, Kate addressed various topics regarding her time with the Aces and also gave her take on the rookie season she's had so far.
"Ups and downs. Obviously, it's not going to be perfect but I'm just trying to learn as much as I possibly can, take it day by day, and that's really it," Martin said. "I didn't have really high expectations coming in so taking nothing for granted and working really hard every single day. That's all I can do and just having a good attitude."
The dip in playtime may be in part due to the Achilles injury she suffered in the last game she played before the WNBA All-Star break, which was against the Chicago Sky on July 16. The injury turned out to be not as serious as it looked, and though she recovered during the break, she has not been played as much as she was before it.
Kate Martin is averaging 2.6 points and 1.5 rebounds in 11.4 minutes of playtime in the 31 games she's played yet in her rookie season. Her best performance in the league was when she recorded 12 points, seven rebounds, one assist and one block against her former Iowa Hawkeye teammate Caitlin Clark when the Las Vegas Aces took on the Indiana Fever on May 26.
