Kate Martin Gets Honest About Besting Friend Caitlin Clark in Fever vs Valkyries Game

The Golden State Valkyries continued their unexpectedly solid start to the 2025 WNBA season on June 19, when they defeated the Indiana Fever by a score of 88-77 on their home court to improve their record to 6-6.

While much of the discourse after this game was about Fever star guard Caitlin Clark struggling from three-point range (she went 0 for 7 from beyond the arc, marking the second game of her WNBA career in which she hasn't made a three), a lot of credit should be given to the Valkyries for how well they defended her.

The most exciting matchup on the court was whenever Golden State standout Kate Martin was guarding Clark (and vice versa), given that these two are best friends from their time as teammates at the University of Iowa.

Clark and Martin shared a wholesome moment before the game began. And it doesn't sound like Thursday's outcome affected their friendship in any way, which Martin conveyed when speaking to a media member after a recent practice.

When Martin was asked about how Clark is taking the loss or whether she's still responding to Martin's texts after the game, Martin said, "Yes, of course. It's not about [wins or losses] whenever you have such a close friendship with somebody. We know somebody is going to have to win, somebody is going to have to lose. But we're there for each other always.

"I mean, obviously happy that we won, but also always cheering [Caitlin] on, always in her corner," Martin concluded.