Valkyries Make Unexpected Kate Martin Decision Against Wings

The Golden State Valkyries entered Friday night’s contest against the Dallas Wings riding a three-game losing streak that had momentarily taken them out of a WNBA postseason spot. As they look to become the first expansion team in league history to make the playoffs, the Valkyries will have to do so without their All-Star forward Kayla Thornton for the remainder of the season.

It was announced on Friday that Thornton underwent season-ending knee surgery after appearing in her first WNBA All-Star Game last weekend. The injury was suffered in practice.

This left Golden State with a hole in its rotation, but Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase did not turn to Kate Martin.

Selected by Golden State in the Expansion Draft from the Las Vegas Aces, Martin has seen more playing time this season than she did her rookie year, but that has been trending in the wrong direction recently. After playing a season-low five minutes against the Phoenix Mercury two games ago, Martin then received 15 minutes against the Seattle Storm, but shot just 1-for-7 from the field.

On Friday against Dallas, Martin was a DNP-CD. Many fans were curious if she was dealing with an injury, which could have explained her absence from the rotation, but Marcus Thompson III of The Athletic confirmed she was healthy and available.

This decision was very controversial among fans on social media, with many believing Thornton’s injury should have paved the way for more Martin minutes. Instead, the former Iowa Hawkeyes guard did not play at all. Thompson noted the surprising nature of this development in his post.

While the move to bench Martin was unexpected, Golden State was able to secure the victory over Dallas and get back in the win column.