Kaitlyn Chen Shines in UConn Battle, Leads Valkyries to Victory

By: Ashmere Prasad

San Francisco – Things got off to a rocky start for Golden State, but once Kaitlyn Chen entered at the end of the first quarter, she immediately shifted the momentum. She closed out with a career-high 15 points, 7-10 FG, two REB, and a STL in the Valkyries’ 91-80 against the Dallas Wings.

Chen is known for her energy. She is always one of the loudest, most expressive players, whether she’s on the court or cheering from the bench.

“She has fun while she plays, and I think in those intense moments, for me especially, I’m like that too. I have to have fun,” Gabby Williams said. “I have to smile, I have to be up with my teammates for me to be at my best, and so when I’m playing alongside someone who’s celebrating her teammates, who’s celebrating herself. That’s fun to celebrate too, because she’s always, even when she’s not on the court, you hear on the bench, she’s always talking during timeouts. So it lifts your energy, and you just feel looser when you play.”

Even though Chen is like this night in and night out, it probably helps that this big night was against her former UConn teammates. She is always pushing the pace when she’s on the floor. She sprints the basket and pulls defenders to her like a moth to a flame. If they bite, she usually hits a layup and draws the foul.

Her strength is her confidence; she continues to push the pace and drive to the hoop. If she feels surrounded, she kicks the ball out and finds an open shooter. Her energetic performance took over from the start and earned her a full fourth quarter of playing time.

Second Quarter Slump

Golden State held the Wings to seven points in the second quarter and went on a 19-0 run that Dallas couldn’t climb out of. Dallas was taking good shots, but they weren’t falling, and Golden State took advantage of those mistakes and continued to score.

“I thought we got good shots, but we had to burn two timeouts during that stretch. Ball doesn’t go in the basket, we gotta get down and grind and string stops. Nine offensive rebounds to our two…Jess Shepard got those two. I think it’s a collective thing we’ve gotta get some second chance opportunities.”

Dallas started to find their rhythm coming out of the half. They moved the ball around and started to hit their usual shots. Sug Sutton hit a three at the buzzer and cut the lead to two points, 62-64.

The energy was high entering the fourth quarter; it was anyone’s game. But Chen and Williams scored back-to-back shots, and Veronica Burton hit a three to extend the lead, and there was no catching up for the Wings.

Azzi Fudd ended the night with 10 points and 5 steals, the most by a rookie in a single game this season. Fudd’s defense in the first quarter was a main reason why Golden State struggled. She had three of her steals in the first and helped push Dallas to a 10-point lead.

The Valkyries face another difficult opponent on Friday night, the Minnesota Lynx. Rookie Olivia Miles is coming off a career-high 31-point game against the Sparks and will be a tall task for Golden State to face.