After a career-high performance of 20 points in the Rams match-up against Loyola Marymount University last Thursday, CSU women’s basketball senior forward Sam Martin was chosen as the Mountain West athlete of the week.
“It’s a really cool honor to have,” Martin said. “A big part of the award is winning, you know your team has to win in order for you to get this honor. So with these two big wins, the team has been a lot of help in my being selected.”
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The Rams have won two games in the past week against LMU as well as University of Denver and have been led by Martin.
“It’s very well deserved. Sam had a really nice week,” head coach Ryun Williams said. “She came up and was really big in the Loyola game and when we needed her to step up against Denver, she did what seniors are supposed to do.”
Martin is the only returning player to this year’s starting lineup and is currently in her fourth year as a member of this Rams team. Martin is also in her second year as captain of the team and has faced a major challenge in turning the team around to have a winning record, while also incorporating eight new players into the roster.
“I’m the only starter right now that has been playing at CSU for four years now and that kind of knows whats going on. Something that I needed to do was step up and get our team going and get ready to start playing for conference which is less than a month away,” Martin said.
“So I think that will be a big part of my leadership on this team, just helping people realize what kind of teams we will be playing, what kind of situations were going to be put in and this pre-season has definitely helped us prepare for that.”
In addition to the leadership she brings to the team and the charisma she displays, the stats column for Martin is not something to be ignored. In her four years here she has played 3,037 minutes, scored 1,266 points, and has made 182 three-pointers.
“She’s definitely apart of our formula for our success. She’s just a lady who has been there and done that,” Williams said. “There probably isn’t any situation on the basketball court that she hasn’t experienced. I think the biggest thing that she brings to our group is that she has a lot of experience and we are surely proud of her performance.”
Women’s basketball Beat Reporter Hannah Cornish can be reached at sports@collegian.com.
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