Valkyries guard Kate Martin helped lead her Unrivaled team, the Laces BC, to their first win Saturday. Martin and the Laces beat the Phantom BC 86-48, while the young guard racked up a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The league's first season tipped off Friday with two games between the Mist and the Lunar Owls and the Rose and the Vinyl.
The Laces dominated the game against the Phantom early. Kayla McBride scored 17 points in the first half, a feat that was almost met by teammate Alyssa Thomas, who scored 12 of her own. The team ended the third quarter up 72-42. The team had to get to 85 points to win the entire game, a Martin stepped up with a game-winning shot right when it was needed the most.
KATE MONEY MARTIN DOUBLE DOUBLE IN HER UNRIVALED DEBUT pic.twitter.com/lMSj1R6XOw
— bellylint (@bellylint4) January 18, 2025
Fans of Martin were thrilled with her performance. A Caitlin Clark fan account on X wrote, "Kate Martin is the living embodiment of Believe in Yourself and Work Your A-- Off." A second person on the platform shared a GIF of Martin making it rain and captioned it, "KATE MONEY MARTIN DOUBLE DOUBLE IN HER UNRIVALED DEBUT."
What's different about Unrivaled
The 3x3 women's basketball league Unrivaled was launched in 2023 as an option for WNBA players who don't want to travel overseas to play in the off-season. The first season will begin on January 17, 2025.
Unrivaled games will be played on a full court with two ends and will be made up of four seven-minute quarters. This is different from the traditional half court FIBA 3x3 format that is played in one ten-minute segment. The court is also smaller than the WNBA's — it measures 70 feet instead of 94.
Laces BC full Unrivaled schedule
Here's every game Kate Martin will play in Unrivaled (not counting the playoffs and finals):
- Monday, Jan. 20 vs Mist: 9:30 pm ET
- Friday, Jan. 24 vs Vinyl: 8:30 pm ET
- Monday, Jan. 27 vs Rose: 8:30 pm ET
- Friday, Jan. 31 vs Lunar Owls: 8:15 pm ET
- Friday, Feb. 1 vs Rose: 7:00 pm ET
- Saturday, Feb. 8 vs Vinyl: 6:00 pm ET
- Tuesday, Feb. 18 vs Phantom: 8:30 pm ET
- Saturday, Feb. 22 vs Lunar Owls: 6:00 pm ET
- Monday, Feb. 24 vs Mist: 8:30 pm ET
- Friday, Feb. 28 vs Vinyl: 7:30 pm ET
- Monday, March 3 vs Rose: 7:30 pm ET
- Friday, March 7 vs Phantom: 7:15 pm ET
- Saturday, March 8 vs Mist: 6:00 pm ET