Photo by: Jack Murrey
#PlantTheFlag FRIDAY: My Story, by Bobcat Women's Basketball Guard Tori Martell
10/9/2020 9:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Tori Martell has been hooping for as long as she remembers
Bobcat women's basketball senior Tori Martell returns after an excellent junior season as the Bobcats marched to a Big Sky Championship. She was named the Big Sky's Top Reserve after shooting 44.1% from three-point range, the second-best rate in the league, and made a season-best five treys in the championship-clinching win against Montana in Worthington Arena. Even with all that offense, Martell's emergence as one of the league's best perimeter defenders helped spark the Bobcats' 19-1 conference season. She is a nursing major from Somerset, Wisconsin, not far from Minneapolis, and during the fall semester has been busy working clinical rotations in various settings around Bozeman.
I grew up on the basketball court, whether that be at my sisters games, practices, or getting shots up at the gym. Growing up we had family friends that owned a gym so that's where I spent most hours practicing. My dad always told me, 'I'm never going to force you to go, but whenever you want I'll go with you.' I always loved going to the gym, it was a relief from school or other stressors in life. If I had a bad shooting day at practice in High School I would go back to the gym later to get more shots up. It was always my choice to go, so I've been in a gym pretty much since I was a baby.
My dad played basketball in high school, but I don't really know how we became a big basketball family. Somerset is a little town, 2,000 people, 40 minutes east of Minneapolis, right on the Wisconsin border. I grew up with my dad as my coach, and he was always the toughest on me because he knew how much I cared about the sport and wanted to get better. I loved playing for my dad because it shaped me into who I am as a player and taught me to be mentally strong. I played on an AAU team, the Minnesota Fury, since I was in fourth grade and I played up for the first two years. I played on that team for eight years until I graduated and made so many amazing memories and made connections with teammates that I still have today. We revolved my childhood around my basketball tournaments and practices, we traveled all over the country and that is what ultimately led me to have the opportunity to play at Montana State. My parents have supported my basketball career so much throughout my life and they still continue to support me through college. My dad has probably been to all but eight games in my whole career. It's so much fun to have my parents at games supporting me. I try to see them as much as I can when we're on the road, although on the road it gets kind of tough. When we're playing at home I definitely get to spend a lot of time with them.
It was definitely difficult last spring when our season ended in Boise. We were at a school reading books to the students (when the decision was being made to cancel the men's and women's tournaments). I hadn't been following what was going on in the NBA and it was almost like a joke, we just didn't have any idea it was going to happen like it did. After our game the night before my dad called me and he said, 'You need to tell me if there aren't going to be fans (allowed into the championship game), and I said, 'We're going to play, there will be fans.' And then everything changed in 12 hours. It was a big shock, most of us couldn't comprehend that our season was over just like that. But we still held on to some hope that we would get to play in the NCAA tournament. Once that got canceled later on, we knew it was over and that was one of the hardest things to accept.
After the season ended I went home for spring break, then I actually came back to Bozeman because I didn't want to miss out on my last few weeks with my teammates, with Oli (Squires), Madeline, and Blaire (Braxton, three of MSU's five seniors in 2019-20). We were together almost every single day during quarantine time. Martha (Kuderer) and Fallyn (Frieje) were home then so we didn't see them that much. We all had big plans for the spring because we knew it was our last college times together. Playing for three years with those three, we always had as much fun as we could. Coming in as a freshman, they were the closest to my class so we hung out with them the whole time and became really close, best friends.
Studying nursing and playing basketball has been pretty intense. There are weeks where I have clinical and class three days a week which causes me to miss practice. I have been in clinical rotations in the OR, Medical floor, Surgical Floor, OB and LD floor, as well as outpatient clinics. I have learned so much in my time in the nursing program and I have loved every part of it. Even though it is a very hard major especially, balancing it with basketball, it is so rewarding and I know I went into the right field. Basketball has taught me so much in regard to being a good nurse as well, it has taught me how to be a good teammate and being supportive to those around me which is crucial in nursing.
Nursing is a major that consumes a lot of time, but all of my professors have been really good and I haven't had to miss many classes because my schedules have worked out so well. This fall has been much tougher because I am in the hospital so much but Coach Bin and my nursing professors have been so supportive we have been making it work. I get a lot of one on one time with Coach Bin doing individual workouts and watching film with her when I do have to miss practices. She has always been reassuring me that nursing school wasn't going to hurt my basketball career, she knows that we are student athletes and how important education is. I am not quite sure what I want to do after I graduate, I will take any job and try to be the best nurse possible and learn new skills. Ultimately, I hope to end up working in Obstetrics or in the NICU working with newborns. And eventually go back to school to become a Nurse Practitioner.
I don't really remember when I decided I wanted to go into nursing, but when I would go on my college visits and schools asked what I wanted to study I'd say I think I want nursing, so they'd throw me in with the nursing majors and that was kind of how it started. I've always wanted to be in the medical field, I just didn't know exactly what. The nursing program at MSU has been great, and it hasn't been as bad as I expected. I remember Christmas break right before I started (taking nursing classes), I was crying to my mom, 'I'm not going to be able to do it, there's absolutely no way this is going to work, I've got to quit (either nursing or basketball).' But since I started it's been amazing, it has worked out, and now I'm coming to the finish line, which is very rewarding. The professors (in the College of Nursing) just love Bobcat Athletics, it's so fun! Most of them ask me about our games, they cheer us on, and they're really accommodating with my schedule. If I let them know when we're gone they'll help me work around it.
Throughout my career at MSU I have always been known as a shooter. I have put a lot of my basketball identity into that title which led to me putting a lot of pressure on myself and my shot. Especially my sophomore year. When I would miss a shot I would be so hard on myself and get very frustrated and that would carry over into other parts of my game, like defense. I figured out quickly though that if I wanted to play I needed to focus on my defense, especially if my shots weren't going in. I had a switch of mentality to focus more on my defense and becoming an all around better player. My junior year was just a lot more freeing for me. I didn't put pressure on myself to make every shot. I just had fun and let the game come to me.
I think last year was my first year on the team that defense was fun. We really got after it on the defensive end. Before, we were always an offensive team, but last year we really concentrated on defense and I think Fallyn (Frieje) was a big part of that. We just had more of a defensive mentality, and I think that had to do with Fallyn's effort on the defensive end. The coaches have always emphasized defense, defense wins championships, and I think we really bought into that last year. Defense did win us a championship
Playing with Darian (White, MSU's freshman point guard last year) was so fun. She is definitely the best player I have played with, along with the most fun to play with. She has a spark of energy that no one else has and as a shooter she always found me. That whole freshman class is energetic. They really fit in easily last year. One of the main things about last year was how well the freshmen fit in right away and how deep our team was.
I can't give the seniors credit enough for last year. It's so sad that we didn't get to finish it but we really had the most fun year we could ever have. To go 19-1 in conference, that doesn't happen very often. There weren't many low points, so it was always fun. On the court and in the locker room we were really close, and there were six of us – me, Blaire (Braxton), Oli (Squires),Sidney (Zieske) , Ash (Van Sickle) and Madeline (Smith) – that connected more off the court and hung out a lot, but the whole team got along like best friends on the court and in the locker room.
It's been a confusing time this fall. We are all trying to keep a strong mental state, telling ourselves we're going to play, but there is always the fear that it could get taken away. Every single day at practice we work really hard as if we are having a season. We are growing every day and building our team chemistry with having a very new team. We know we are going to have a season and we are all so excited to get back into playing games. A few weeks ago II was on a call with Darian and the Big Sky Commissioner a while ago (along with representatives from each Big Sky school), and he didn't have any answers for us because there is still so much uncertainty. This year will be a lot different and I think we all know that, but we are still very excited and ready to get games started!
I grew up on the basketball court, whether that be at my sisters games, practices, or getting shots up at the gym. Growing up we had family friends that owned a gym so that's where I spent most hours practicing. My dad always told me, 'I'm never going to force you to go, but whenever you want I'll go with you.' I always loved going to the gym, it was a relief from school or other stressors in life. If I had a bad shooting day at practice in High School I would go back to the gym later to get more shots up. It was always my choice to go, so I've been in a gym pretty much since I was a baby.
My dad played basketball in high school, but I don't really know how we became a big basketball family. Somerset is a little town, 2,000 people, 40 minutes east of Minneapolis, right on the Wisconsin border. I grew up with my dad as my coach, and he was always the toughest on me because he knew how much I cared about the sport and wanted to get better. I loved playing for my dad because it shaped me into who I am as a player and taught me to be mentally strong. I played on an AAU team, the Minnesota Fury, since I was in fourth grade and I played up for the first two years. I played on that team for eight years until I graduated and made so many amazing memories and made connections with teammates that I still have today. We revolved my childhood around my basketball tournaments and practices, we traveled all over the country and that is what ultimately led me to have the opportunity to play at Montana State. My parents have supported my basketball career so much throughout my life and they still continue to support me through college. My dad has probably been to all but eight games in my whole career. It's so much fun to have my parents at games supporting me. I try to see them as much as I can when we're on the road, although on the road it gets kind of tough. When we're playing at home I definitely get to spend a lot of time with them.
It was definitely difficult last spring when our season ended in Boise. We were at a school reading books to the students (when the decision was being made to cancel the men's and women's tournaments). I hadn't been following what was going on in the NBA and it was almost like a joke, we just didn't have any idea it was going to happen like it did. After our game the night before my dad called me and he said, 'You need to tell me if there aren't going to be fans (allowed into the championship game), and I said, 'We're going to play, there will be fans.' And then everything changed in 12 hours. It was a big shock, most of us couldn't comprehend that our season was over just like that. But we still held on to some hope that we would get to play in the NCAA tournament. Once that got canceled later on, we knew it was over and that was one of the hardest things to accept.
After the season ended I went home for spring break, then I actually came back to Bozeman because I didn't want to miss out on my last few weeks with my teammates, with Oli (Squires), Madeline, and Blaire (Braxton, three of MSU's five seniors in 2019-20). We were together almost every single day during quarantine time. Martha (Kuderer) and Fallyn (Frieje) were home then so we didn't see them that much. We all had big plans for the spring because we knew it was our last college times together. Playing for three years with those three, we always had as much fun as we could. Coming in as a freshman, they were the closest to my class so we hung out with them the whole time and became really close, best friends.
Studying nursing and playing basketball has been pretty intense. There are weeks where I have clinical and class three days a week which causes me to miss practice. I have been in clinical rotations in the OR, Medical floor, Surgical Floor, OB and LD floor, as well as outpatient clinics. I have learned so much in my time in the nursing program and I have loved every part of it. Even though it is a very hard major especially, balancing it with basketball, it is so rewarding and I know I went into the right field. Basketball has taught me so much in regard to being a good nurse as well, it has taught me how to be a good teammate and being supportive to those around me which is crucial in nursing.
Nursing is a major that consumes a lot of time, but all of my professors have been really good and I haven't had to miss many classes because my schedules have worked out so well. This fall has been much tougher because I am in the hospital so much but Coach Bin and my nursing professors have been so supportive we have been making it work. I get a lot of one on one time with Coach Bin doing individual workouts and watching film with her when I do have to miss practices. She has always been reassuring me that nursing school wasn't going to hurt my basketball career, she knows that we are student athletes and how important education is. I am not quite sure what I want to do after I graduate, I will take any job and try to be the best nurse possible and learn new skills. Ultimately, I hope to end up working in Obstetrics or in the NICU working with newborns. And eventually go back to school to become a Nurse Practitioner.
I don't really remember when I decided I wanted to go into nursing, but when I would go on my college visits and schools asked what I wanted to study I'd say I think I want nursing, so they'd throw me in with the nursing majors and that was kind of how it started. I've always wanted to be in the medical field, I just didn't know exactly what. The nursing program at MSU has been great, and it hasn't been as bad as I expected. I remember Christmas break right before I started (taking nursing classes), I was crying to my mom, 'I'm not going to be able to do it, there's absolutely no way this is going to work, I've got to quit (either nursing or basketball).' But since I started it's been amazing, it has worked out, and now I'm coming to the finish line, which is very rewarding. The professors (in the College of Nursing) just love Bobcat Athletics, it's so fun! Most of them ask me about our games, they cheer us on, and they're really accommodating with my schedule. If I let them know when we're gone they'll help me work around it.
Throughout my career at MSU I have always been known as a shooter. I have put a lot of my basketball identity into that title which led to me putting a lot of pressure on myself and my shot. Especially my sophomore year. When I would miss a shot I would be so hard on myself and get very frustrated and that would carry over into other parts of my game, like defense. I figured out quickly though that if I wanted to play I needed to focus on my defense, especially if my shots weren't going in. I had a switch of mentality to focus more on my defense and becoming an all around better player. My junior year was just a lot more freeing for me. I didn't put pressure on myself to make every shot. I just had fun and let the game come to me.
I think last year was my first year on the team that defense was fun. We really got after it on the defensive end. Before, we were always an offensive team, but last year we really concentrated on defense and I think Fallyn (Frieje) was a big part of that. We just had more of a defensive mentality, and I think that had to do with Fallyn's effort on the defensive end. The coaches have always emphasized defense, defense wins championships, and I think we really bought into that last year. Defense did win us a championship
Playing with Darian (White, MSU's freshman point guard last year) was so fun. She is definitely the best player I have played with, along with the most fun to play with. She has a spark of energy that no one else has and as a shooter she always found me. That whole freshman class is energetic. They really fit in easily last year. One of the main things about last year was how well the freshmen fit in right away and how deep our team was.
I can't give the seniors credit enough for last year. It's so sad that we didn't get to finish it but we really had the most fun year we could ever have. To go 19-1 in conference, that doesn't happen very often. There weren't many low points, so it was always fun. On the court and in the locker room we were really close, and there were six of us – me, Blaire (Braxton), Oli (Squires),Sidney (Zieske) , Ash (Van Sickle) and Madeline (Smith) – that connected more off the court and hung out a lot, but the whole team got along like best friends on the court and in the locker room.
It's been a confusing time this fall. We are all trying to keep a strong mental state, telling ourselves we're going to play, but there is always the fear that it could get taken away. Every single day at practice we work really hard as if we are having a season. We are growing every day and building our team chemistry with having a very new team. We know we are going to have a season and we are all so excited to get back into playing games. A few weeks ago II was on a call with Darian and the Big Sky Commissioner a while ago (along with representatives from each Big Sky school), and he didn't have any answers for us because there is still so much uncertainty. This year will be a lot different and I think we all know that, but we are still very excited and ready to get games started!
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