Caitlin Clark Sends Heartfelt Message to Kate Martin After Fever-Valkyries
Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin won't meet again on the basketball court in 2025, but the pair did get together for a photo op after Martin's Golden State Valkyries downed the Indiana Fever 75-63 on Sunday as Clark missed her 19th consecutive game with a groin injury that has left her sidelined since mid-July.
Martin and Clark had an illustrious career together at the University of Iowa, with Martin serving as Clark's main sidekick during a career that saw Iowa advance to consecutive national title games in 2023 and 2024. Martin wasn't even a traditional draft night invitee when the Las Vegas Aces selected her in 2024, but she was already in attendance to support Clark's selection as the No. 1 overall pick.
Clark shared one of the photos that she and Martin took after the game to her Instagram story on Monday, sending a brief message to her good friend and former teammate in the process.
Caitlin on her story “@/katemartin proud of you” pic.twitter.com/2o7JBkTpqg
— correlation (@nosyone4) September 1, 2025
"Proud of you," Clark captioned the post, tagging Martin.
What Sunday's Win Means
Sunday was crucial in the tightly contested WNBA playoff race, as the Valkyries' win over the Fever meant the teams flip-flopped as the No. 6 and No. 8 seeds in the current playoff draw. If that were to stick, the Valkyries would avoid a first-round matchup with the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx, while the Fever would be tasked with facing the league's most dominant team right off the bat in the first round.
The Valkyries would face the Atlanta Dream in the first round of the WNBA playoffs if the season ended today, which is a much more manageable matchup than the one against Minnesota would be. The Dream, Las Vegas Aces, and Phoenix Mercury are all in contention for the No. 2 through No. 4 seeds at the moment, while New York is hanging a couple of games behind that fracas in the No. 5 spot.
The Valkyries complete the back-to-back with a 75-63 win over the Indiana Fever, sweeping them this season.
— Kenzo Fukuda (@kenzofuku) September 1, 2025
Iliana Rupert finished with a game-high 21 points while Veronica Burton collected 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 13 assists.
Magic Number falls to 3.
Given how hot the Aces have been throughout the month of August, you would have to imagine Golden State is working hard and doing everything in their power to avoid that matchup in the first round, perhaps as much as they would like to avoid the Lynx. If anyone knows how dangerous the Aces are in the playoffs, it's Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase, who was a critical staff member for each of their championships as an assistant coach.
The Valkyries host the Liberty in another pivotal tilt at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Tuesday, with tip-off set for 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
Will Despart is a Las Vegas-based sportswriter who covers the WNBA for OnSI. He also writes for Ballislife and handles multiple beats for The Sporting Tribune, including the Las Vegas Aces and Las Vegas Raiders. His reporting has been featured in newspapers across the country through the Field Level Media news wire.