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

SAN FRANCISCO With a chance to send Wednesday s match against the defending champions into overtime Kate Martin s -foot heave fell short New York Liberty coach Sandy Brondello breathed a sigh of relief Coming off the bench in Wednesday s - loss to the Liberty the Valkyries second-year guard lit up the Liberty to the tune of a career-high points of which came in the fourth quarter Each of her four made -pointers she made in the final minutes of play drew a roar from the raucous sellout crowd of at Chase Center and she walked off to a round of applause even in defeat Golden State Valkyries' Kate Martin is congratulated by teammates Monique Billings and Kaitlyn Chen after making a -point basket to tie the total in the fourth quarter of their WNBA competition at the Chase Center in San Francisco Calif on Wednesday June Jane Tyska Bay Area News Group It was the type of breakout event 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 disclosed She made several 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 constantly 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 eventually After the first five games of the season it was unclear whether Martin would play a important role on the expansion Valkyries For all the excitement surrounding her arrival to the Bay Area the second-year guard shot from the field and from the -point line while averaging points per battle through the Valkyries first five games of the season She was a healthy scratch in a road encounter against the Liberty on May and looked to have fallen out of coach Natalie Nakase s rotation Golden State Valkyries' Kate Martin guards New York Liberty's Kennedy Burke in the fourth quarter of their WNBA encounter at the Chase Center in San Francisco Calif on Wednesday June Jane Tyska Bay Area News Group But since then Martin has seemed to have unveiled her groove Since her cold slump she s looked more confident as a shooter and has determined other avenues to outcome Nakase has praised Martin s evolution as a cutter and as a defender We want her to stay aggressive Nakase mentioned It s a credit to Kate believing in herself and her teammates believing in her Martin struggled in the first half of Wednesday s contest but got the nod to start the third quarter Nakase revealed 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 group with All-Stars Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu facilitating to open shooters on the floor But with the match slipping away Martin hit a to bring the Valkyries back to within three On the next possession she hit a -footer from the left wing and raised three fingers by her waist to show how a multitude of points she put on the board Golden State Valkyries' Kate Martin shoots past New York Liberty's Isabelle Harrison in the third quarter of their WNBA contest at the Chase Center in San Francisco Calif on Wednesday June Jane Tyska Bay Area News Group Later in the quarter Martin caught the Liberty defense lacking when she identified herself open in the left corner and drained another 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 tournament 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 Related Articles Valkyries put up fight but fall short to Sabrina Ionescu-led Liberty at home Kaitlyn Chen embracing return to Valkyries hoping to stick around for good Sabrina Ionescu gets the WNBA homecoming she never thought was manageable Valkyries become WNBA s the bulk valuable franchise in debut season We re not fighting for anything unreasonable Valkyries speak out on ongoing CBA negotiations All of her hard work in the offseason coming into this season is now coming to life Nakase noted 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 constantly 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 announced of her fourth quarter flurry It just feels good to knock down shots Golden State Valkyries' Kate Martin guards New York Liberty's Kennedy Burke in the fourth quarter of their WNBA championship at the Chase Center in San Francisco Calif on Wednesday June Jane Tyska Bay Area News Group