‘It just feels good to knock down shots’: Valkyries’ Kate Martin finds her moment in loss to Liberty ...Middle East

SAN FRANCISCO — With a chance to send Wednesday’s game against the defending champions into overtime, Kate Martin’s 25-foot heave fell short. 

New York Liberty coach Sandy Brondello breathed a sigh of relief. 

Coming off the bench in Wednesday’s 81-78 loss to the Liberty, the Valkyries’ second-year guard lit up the Liberty to the tune of a career-high 21 points – 14 of which came in the fourth quarter. Each of her four made 3-pointers she made in the final 10 minutes of play drew a roar from the raucous sellout crowd of 18,064 at Chase Center and she walked off to a round of applause even in defeat.

It was the type of breakout game the Valkyries have been waiting for from the former Iowa standout. 

“She’s a great shooter, and she’s got a lot of confidence when the ball comes to her, and she’s going to make tough plays and you saw that tonight,” Brondello said. “She made some shots where we overhelped, and just left her open, and that wasn’t the plan. But sometimes in the heat of the battle, we lose our focus on how we want to execute. 

“But Kate made those shots, and she’s always stayed ready. I really like her mentality. She really was a thorn in our side, and at the end, obviously, they went to her and got a shot off and didn’t make it …. finally.”

After the first five games of the season, it was unclear whether Martin would play a significant role on the expansion Valkyries. 

For all the excitement surrounding her arrival to the Bay Area, the second-year guard shot 26.3% from the field and 33.3% from the 3-point line while averaging 4.5 points per game through the Valkyries first five games of the season. She was a healthy scratch in a road game against the Liberty on May 29 and looked to have fallen out of coach Natalie Nakase’s rotation. 

But since then, Martin has seemed to have found her groove. Since her cold slump, she’s looked more confident as a shooter and has found other ways to score. Nakase has praised Martin’s evolution as a cutter and as a defender. 

“We want her to stay aggressive,” Nakase said. “It’s a credit to Kate believing in herself and her teammates believing in her.”

Martin struggled in the first half of Wednesday’s game, but got the nod to start the third quarter. Nakase said starting guard Tiffany Hayes had to use the bathroom, which forced Martin onto the floor out of halftime. 

Numerous strong drives to the rim got Martin going after scoring just two points in the first half. She continued to put pressure on the rim in the fourth quarter, making the Liberty’s lengthy defense give her space to protect against her drive. 

The turning point for Martin came with the Valkyries down six with under five minutes left. For a moment, it looked like New York was going to outpace the home team with All-Stars Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu facilitating to open shooters on the floor. 

But with the game slipping away, Martin hit a 3 to bring the Valkyries back to within three. On the next possession, she hit a 24-footer from the left wing and raised three fingers by her waist to show how many points she put on the board. 

Later in the quarter, Martin caught the Liberty defense lacking when she found herself open in the left corner and drained another 3 that gave the Valkyries the lead. Her final long ball came on an improbable fadeaway from the left wing that cut New York’s lead to just one and drew the loudest cheers of the night from the fans inside Ballhalla. 

For Martin, Wednesday’s game was a glimpse of what she can do for the Valkyries going forward. Nakase harkened back to Martin’s offseason regiment as to why she has taken a bigger step forward this season. 

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“All of her hard work in the offseason coming into this season is now coming to life,” Nakase said. “She set a time of training both physically. She had a trainer who did not only her basketball skills, but physical skills. So she was in the weight room. She was doing agility. She was always asking, ‘What should I work on?’ And so again, just credit to her for just sacrificing her whole off season. And now you guys are seeing the results of everything.”

Martin, though, credited her teammates for putting her in the right spots at the right time. 

“I was ice cold in the first half, so shout out to (my teammates) for continuing to pass me the ball,” Martin said of her fourth quarter flurry. “It just feels good to knock down shots.”

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