Martin's defense helps to lead Little Elm to first district title in 21 years

“I just knew that defense was my thing,” she said. “It was just fun to do that.”

Defense continues to be a strength of Martin’s game. With Little Elm, Martin is counted upon to guard the other team’s best scoring guard. It is a role that she takes pride in. Martin is second on the Lady Lobos in steals at 2.4 per game.

Martin is also just as capable on offense. Her energy on the defensive end translates to the other side of her game. Martin is averaging seven points per game, in addition to 2.5 rebounds and 2.2 steals.

Martin’s play is a big reason why Little Elm finished in first place in District 5-6A. On Tuesday, the Lady Lobos defeated Allen, 69-53, to win their first district title since 2002 and first district title for Little Elm’s athletic program since it became a Class 6A school in 2020.

But Martin hopes this is a sign of better things to come for Little Elm over the next few weeks. The Lady Lobos open the playoffs with a bi-district game against Plano East, set for 6:30 p.m. Monday at Frisco Wakeland.

Of course, Little Elm seeks a deeper playoff run after losing to Plano in the first round last year.  

In this week’s Star Local Media student-athlete profile, Martin chats about the excitement of winning a district title, how much pride she takes in her defense and reveals the name of her favorite basketball player.

SLM: Congrats on helping to lead Little Elm to the district title. How great was that accomplishment?

MM: That experience felt really good because we had never done that before. It felt good because we had worked so hard as a team to accomplishing something like that. So, just to be able to raise the trophy felt like a badge of honor for me and my teammates, and I was just really proud that we could accomplish something like that.

SLM: At what point this season did everything begin to click for Little Elm?

MM: The loss against (Denton) Guyer in the first time showed us that we need to be better and it was time to step it up a little bit. We went through the rest of district undefeated. I think that is what really did it. We just had to step back and tell ourselves that we have to get better as a team so we can accomplish something better.

SLM: How much do you feel the experience of competing in the playoffs last season has prepared Little Elm for Monday’s bi-district game against Plano East?

MM: Going to the first round of the playoffs and losing was heartbreaking for us. We know the feeling of losing. We’re going to go out harder. We’re going to go out with a better mindset. We know what the environment will be like. We just want to have fun. Now we know what the atmosphere will be like, we want to go out and get better and go further and hopefully get to the state championship.

SLM: How much pride do you take in your defense?

MM: For me, that’s the whole game for me. I know that my offense is coming to come based on how I play defense. I know I’m going to play hard. I know I’m going to go out there and lock down those DI athletes, the top scorers. That’s what really gets me going so I can have a good rest of the game. That’s going to transfer to my offense. Knowing that I can lock down people that are really good motivates me.

SLM: Little Elm has improved greatly on the offensive end as the season has progressed. What do you attribute to that improvement?

MM:  Our offense went from stagnant to great. We know how to share the ball. We know we’re going to back door. We know that we’re going to curl. We know everybody’s strengths and weaknesses. Our offense has improved greatly as the season has gone along.

SLM: How would you describe your role as a team leader?

MM: My role is to get everybody in their positions. If they don’t know what they’re doing or where they are supposed to be at during a play, I’m the one that is supposed to get them there. I’m funny and goofy, so everybody knows that I’m not trying to be negative. I’m trying to help everyone out.

SLM: Who are people that have helped you to develop into the player that you are now?

MM: My old AAU coach, and my coach now, coach (Ken) Tutt. Coach Tutt uses my strengths. He uses my speed. He lets me come up with the ball and tells me that I can blow past them. He uses me to my strengths. He knows where I shoot the ball best on the court, so he tries to get me on those spots.

SLM: Who is your favorite basketball player?

MM: My favorite basketball player is Kobe Bryant. Just his drive for the game. He’s never satisfied with himself. Even when he was getting all of the accomplishments and notoriety, he works hard to get even better than what he was at that time. I just want to be like that. I want to have that Mamba mentality to make me realize that no matter how good people tell me I am, it’s always a way to get better.