Valkyries Make Kate Martin Decision Before Game Against Caitlin Clark, Fever
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark is making her return from injury on Wednesday against the Golden State Valkyries. Missing the last five games with a groin injury, Clark will make her highly anticipated return in front of Indiana’s home crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Clark’s return also sets up a meeting with her former Iowa Hawkeyes teammate and close friend Kate Martin. Selected by Golden State in the Expansion Draft from the Las Vegas Aces, Martin has appeared in 17 games for the Valkyries this season. The second year guard has posted averages of 7.4 points and 2.6 rebounds, almost exclusively off the bench.
Coming into Wednesday, Martin had started just one game this season. That came in the season opener against the Los Angeles Sparks, as she has been exclusively featured off the bench since.
Amid a strong stretch of play, Martin has scored in double figures four of her last five games. She is averaging 11.8 points in this stretch, while converting on 40.6% of 3-point attempts. This earned her a promotion for Wednesday’s game against Clark and Indiana, as Martin has been moved into the starting lineup.
Indy starters. @OLLYwellness | Starting Five pic.twitter.com/j8QxKhlViD
— Golden State Valkyries (@valkyries) July 9, 2025
This will set up an even more exciting matchup between Martin and Clark, as the two close friends have not always had extended minutes to share the floor in their WNBA careers. That said, Martin is 3-0 against Clark when she had seen minutes against her former teammate, including a win earlier this season in which she tallied nine points and five rebounds in 20 minutes of action (via StatMuse).
Martin started two games in her rookie year for Las Vegas, one of which included her season-high of 13 points against the Sparks.
Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.