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Sabrina Ionescu Reacts to Kate Martin’s Big Play After Liberty-Valkyries Game

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Chris Phelps | Last updated Jun 26, 2025 3:47 PM ET

Kate Martin had arguably the best game of her young WNBA career on Wednesday night as her Golden State Valkyries fell to Sabrina Ionescu and the defending champion New York Liberty, 81-78.

In front of another sold-out crowd at Chase Center, Martin scored a career-high 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting and 4-of-10 from distance in 24 minutes of action. She also added two rebounds and a steal. Ionescu put up 11 points on 1-of-11 shooting and seven rebounds.

Martin scored 12 of her 21 points in the final five minutes of the game. With the Valkyries trailing by six, she sparked a personal 9-2 run to give Golden State the lead. Martin was also the only Valkyries player to score in the final 6:30 of play.

One of Martin’s 3-pointers drew praise from Ionescu. With 1:59 remaining, Martin hit the third long-range shot of her personal run, giving Golden State a one-point lead. The San Francisco crowd erupted in response to her clutch play.

KATE. MARTIN.

The sophomore has drained three triples in the 4Q and now has a new CAREER-HIGH of 18 PTS!

NYL-GSV | League Pass pic.twitter.com/cMayqHzK2h
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 26, 2025

After the win, Ionescu spoke to the reporters for a postgame press conference. When asked about playing in "Ballhalla" for the first time, Ionescu, who grew up near San Francisco, mentioned Martin's big 3-pointer.

"It's kinda fun to be a competitor and have those cheers go against you," Ionescu said. "I think we were able to kind of withstand their runs. They went on huge runs. Kate Martin hit a huge three, feel like the building was about to pop off. So it was just fun."

I asked Sabrina Ionescu about the Valkyries crowd and playing in Ballhalla. She said she thought the building was gonna pop after the Kate Martin three.

(She was repping a Bay FC sweater) pic.twitter.com/VnMivDpHTW
— Matt Lively (@mattblively) June 26, 2025

With the loss, Martin and the Valkyries saw their two-game winning streak come to an end, falling to 7-7 to begin the 2025 WNBA season. Ionescu and the Liberty, on the other hand, improve to 11-3 and remain atop the Eastern Conference standings.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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