The 20,366 present at the T-Mobile Arena witnessed an enticing clash between the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces go down Tuesday evening. Despite a valiant effort, the visitors weren’t able to cope with the final quarter onslaught by A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum and subsequently lost the contest 88-69. While the fans were looking forward to witnessing Caitlin Clark taking on A’ja Wilson, it was her encounter with former Iowa teammate Kate Martin that grabbed a lot of traction among fans.

Very early in the first quarter, Becky Hammon decided to introduce Martin into the game in place of Chelsea Gray. After this, it took the Aces rookie just over a minute to make her mark in the game. Apparently, with 3:46 left in the opening quarter, the 24-year-old managed to secure an impressive defensive rebound.

What was thrilling for the fans was another one of her actions for the night came at the expense of her best friend Caitlin Clark. Late in the third quarter, the 18th overall pick forced a lost ball turnover out of the 2× National Player of the Year. In addition to this, this exciting turn of events also resulted in fetching Kelsey Plum a steal and a third personal foul for Caitlin Clark.

The instance was rather quick in capturing the attention of the spectators, who seemed to reap the joy.

The competitive spirit of Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin enthralls social media

For numerous, the moment to transpire on the hardwood was one to remember with the seamless execution. Bringing this expression into his comments, one of the X users wrote, “Kate Martin locking up Caitlin Clark is cinema.” 

Many would believe that the only shortcoming in Caitlin Clark’s overall fabulous season is her turnovers. The 6-foot-guard has a total of 112 turnovers before the commencement of this game. Moreover, the Aces clash also resulted in 6 turnovers for the rookie. The fact that one of them resulted courtesy of Martin became a source of amusement for some. Subsequently, one of the X users expressed, “Kate Martin forced a TO on Caitlin Clark.😂” 

Kate Martin has been a viable defensive option for the Aces as a rookie. Her contributions include 33 rebounds, 3 steals, and 4 blocks so far this season. In this game as well, her 11 minutes proved quite crucial for the home team. Recognizing that, one fan commended her for this specific effort. The comment read, “Nice defensive play by Kate Martin on Caitlin Clark forcing Clark to cough up the ball and end up committing her third foul of the night.”

The impressive play by Martin involved consistent pressure on Clark. She was on her and didn’t surrender until her former teammate was forced to give up the ball to Kelsey Plum. These thrilling few seconds were enough to evoke a range of emotions out of many people. Therefore one of them described it as, “Lmfao did Kate Martin just strip that ball from Caitlin. 😭😭😭.” 

Meanwhile, some even used hilarious GIFs to convey their pure exhilaration.

The game proved to be quite an adventure for the fans. To witness them both have a go at each other surely was pure entertainment. It will be enticing to see what both of them bring to the table the next time they lock horns.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.