Rookie Kate Martin was part of the Las Vegas Aces’ starting five for the first time tonight. However, that fact was not enough for the Los Angeles Sparks rookie Rickea Jackson to cut her some slack. Giving out her best performance so far against the reigning champions, the fourth overall pick slowly drained Iowa’s ‘Glue’ throughout the game. But one play took the spotlight as the Aces rookie tried to guard Jackson in the low post.

With the game clock reading just 1:20 left, Rickea Jackson made an important layup for her team. But the shot was not just that. Kate Martin, 6-ft, was guarding the 6-ft-2 hooper in the low post. After making the layup, Jackson celebrated her basket in a rather unusual manner. She ran past the floor, holding her right hand down, suggesting that the former Hawkeye was no match for her height.

The official X account of LiveWire Sports Media shared the clip from the fourth quarter. They captioned their tweet, “Rickea Jackson too small Kate Martin 😱😱😱” And why wouldn’t she celebrate that way considering she was unstoppable in the clutch.

Jackson seemed to be in the zone in the fourth. She entered the game with 7:23 left and the Sparks leading 78-71. The Aces went on a 11-0 run to take a 4-point lead but it was Jackson, who finally ended the Sparks’ scoring drought with a layup. After Rae Burrell made a couple of threes, Jackson again scored from inside the paint and drew a foul on Martin to complete the 3-point play, putting LA up 5. On the other end, A’ja Wilson converted a three to make it a one-possession game. But it was Jackson again who put the Sparks up 4, as the clip above shows. The game ended 96-92 in the home team’s favor as Jackson earned a lot of plaudits for her clutch display.

Los Angeles put up a show tonight that Rickea Jackson called “amazing.”However, while the rookies went against each other the whole time, it was just the competitiveness of the sport that made them the beasts. Apart from that, they have nothing but love for each other. Rickea Jackson proved just that with her latest tweet.

Rickea Jackson has a special message for Kate Martin

Kate Martin started the game for Las Vegas tonight and impressed everyone by going 3 of 3 from beyond the arc and garnering 11 points in the first half. She ended the night with a defeat and 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. On the other hand, Rickea Jackson had 16 points and 5 rebounds for the Sparks.

Jackson later tweeted complimenting the second-round pick on her displays so far. In her tweet, the 23-year-old sent a message to the No. 20 of the Aces saying, “Kate Martin is like that🔥🔥🔥🔥 much respect.”

Logging last night’s game in, Rickea Jackson and Co. are now on a 2-game winning streak. The No. 2 forward of the Sparks has been a starter for LA since their last six games. This draft class is proving its potential with every given chance and the league’s ceiling is only getting higher as a result.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato had to say about the Reese-Clark rivalry and more, watch this video.