Kate Martin has experienced an up-and-down first season in the WNBA. She wasn’t even sure if she would be drafted out of Iowa and was pleasantly surprised upon hearing her name called by the Aces in the second round. And she came out of the gates quickly, turning into one of the Aces’ best bench players at the beginning of the season.
Martin earned that rotation spot by draining her open shots. She’s hit 36.8 percent of her 3’s through her first 32 games. In her lone opportunity to enter the starting lineup back in June, she scored 13 points on only seven shots. So why isn’t she playing now?
Martin’s playing time has dropped substantially as the season has progressed. She’s barely played since the Aces returned from the All-Star break.
Here’s why Martin has had trouble seeing the floor recently, and what she needs to do to carve out a role for herself.
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Why is Kate Martin not playing for the Aces?
Martin was drafted in the second round by the Aces, so she was always going to have to earn whatever playing time she received. There are so few roster spots in the WNBA that second-rounders can struggle to stick in the league.
Martin looked to be doing that, but injuries certainly didn’t help her…