Caitlin Clark Gave Awesome Tribute to Kate Martin Ahead of Fever-Aces Clash

The former Hawkeyes stars will face off for the second time this season on Tuesday night.

Jenna Watson/IndyStar / USA TODAY

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark had nothing but glowing praise for her former Iowa teammate, Kate Martin, ahead of Tuesday night’s regular season matchup between the Fever and Las Vegas Aces.

Clark and Martin previously played each other on May 25, which ended in a 99-80 win for the Aces. What makes the Fever-Aces’ second showdown different is that the game will be played at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas rather than the Aces’ traditional arena, allowing for an extra 6,000 fans to be in attendance.

Despite the much larger arena, other aspects of the game—like Clark’s lasting friendship with Martin—will likely stay the same.

“It’s kind of rare at the pro level what she can bring to a team, but she’s one of those people that’s not gonna care if she scores points, not gonna care how many rebounds she has or how many assists she has—she’s just gonna come in and play as hard as she possibly gonna, gonna be the best teammate she can be and those are the type of people you want in your locker room,” Clark said of Martin, via USA Today.

Clark, who currently leads all WNBA rookies with 16.2 points and 6.9 assists per game, fell tantalizingly short of winning an NCAA title with Martin in their senior seasons at Iowa. 

The two rookies have since remained close after being drafted on different WNBA teams, with Martin recently admitting that they often text each other about pregame outfits. 

Following Tuesday’s matchup, the Aces and Fever will meet two more times this season on Clark’s home court in Indianapolis on Sept. 11 and Sept. 13. 

“She makes shots, she makes threes, she always has her feet ready,” Clark continued. “From a basketball standpoint at times she could get a little overlooked. But she could do some amazing things—she can do some things I couldn’t do! Her mid-post game is really good, she has a nice little fadeaway, she has a high basketball IQ. Those are the type of players Becky [Hammon] wants. I think she fits that system perfectly.”