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Kaitlyn Chen

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Kaitlyn Chen
No. 20 – UConn Huskies
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
LeagueBig East Conference
Personal information
BornSan Marino, California, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Career information
High schoolFlintridge Prep
(La Cañada Flintridge, California)
College
Career highlights and awards

Kaitlyn Chen is an American college basketball player for the UConn Huskies of the Big East Conference. She previously played for the Princeton Tigers.

Early life and high school career

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Chen was born and raised in San Marino, California to Taiwanese immigrants. She played four sports as a child.[1][2]

Chen played basketball for Flintridge Preparatory School in La Cañada Flintridge, California, where she holds the school records in points, rebounds and assists.[3] She also played with Cal Storm Team Taurasi, an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) program competing in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League.[4][5] Chen was named All-Area Player of the Year as a sophomore, and earned Pasadena Star-News All-Area Player of the Year honors in her final two seasons.[6][7][8] Rated a four-star recruit and number 66 in her class by ESPN, she committed to play college basketball for Princeton over offers from California and North Carolina.[9]

College career

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Princeton

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Chen did not play in her freshman season at Princeton, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[10]

In her sophomore season, Chen made her college debut coming off the bench to record nine points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in a 59–42 win over Villanova.[11] In the 2022 Ivy League tournament final, she scored a season-high 30 points in a 77–59 win over Columbia, and was named tournament most outstanding player (MOP).[3] The title qualified the Princeton team for the 2022 NCAA tournament, where she recorded 17 points in a 69–62 win over sixth-seeded Kentucky in the first round.[12] She later scored 10 points in a 55–56 loss against third-seeded Indiana in the second round.[13] As a sophomore, Chen averaged 10.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, leading her team in assists.[4][14]

In her junior season, Chen started in 29 out of 30 games played.[15] She led Princeton to the 2023 Ivy League tournament title with 21 points and six rebounds in a 54–48 win against Harvard, repeating as MOP of the tournament. In the 2023 NCAA tournament, she posted 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists in a 64–63 victory against NC State in the first round. She then recorded 19 points and six rebounds in 56–63 loss against Utah in the second round. She averaged 16.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, leading her team in both points and assists.[5][15] She earned Ivy League Player of the Year and first-team All-Ivy League honors.[16]

As a senior, Chen served as the captain of the Princeton team.[10] She posted 17 points and six assists in a 75–58 victory against Columbia during the 2024 Ivy League tournament, earning the team its third straight title. She received the MOP award a third time. In the 2024 NCAA tournament, she scored 17 points in a 53–63 loss against West Virginia.[17] Chen was named first-team All-Ivy League and Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-America honorable mention.[18] Over the season, she averaged 15.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists, once again leading her team in points[19] and assists.[7][20] On December 11, 2023, she scored a career-high 31 points in a 61–58 win over Villanova.[21]

While at Princeton, Chen accumulated 1,276 points, 313 rebounds and 359 assists over three seasons and 90 games, ranking third in career assists and 12th in career points in Princeton women's basketball history.[22] She received the C. Otto von Kiebusch Sportswoman of the Year Award, an award given annually to a Princeton senior woman of "high scholastic rank who has demonstrated general proficiency in athletics and the qualities of a true sportswoman".[8]

As the Ivy League does not allow for graduate participants in varsity sports, Chen entered the transfer portal during her senior year with one year of eligibility remaining.[12] She was ranked 9th among transfers in the nation by ESPN.[23]

UConn

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UConn head coach Geno Auriemma first expressed interest in Chen during the 2022–23 season, when she posted 18 points and seven assists in a 64–69 loss against his team on December 8, 2022. He contacted Princeton head coach Carla Berube, who had formerly played at UConn and been coached by Auriemma, to discuss her.[24] Chen later cited UConn and UCLA as the finalists for her graduate season.[14]

For her graduate season, Chen ultimately elected to transfer to UConn, replacing the graduating Nika Mühl in the backcourt.[25] She was named a Preseason All-Big East Team honorable mention.[26]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2021–22 Princeton 30 21 29.5 .434 .282 .818 2.9 3.2 1.1 0.1 2.5 10.5
2022–23 Princeton 30 29 33.9 .462 .265 .720 4.1 3.8 0.9 0.1 2.9 16.2
2023–24 Princeton 30 30 34.9 .488 .328 .766 3.5 4.9 1.3 0.3 2.8 15.8
Career 90 80 32.8 .465 .293 .763 3.5 4.0 1.1 0.2 2.7 14.2

Source:[27]

References

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  1. ^ Wright, Madaleine (May 6, 2024). "Princeton University basketball player hopes to inspire Asian American girls to embrace sports". CBS News. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  2. ^ Mhando, Brian (March 5, 2024). "Kaitlyn Chen: The offensive leader of a defensive team". The Daily Princetonian. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Hatfield, Jenn (March 10, 2023). "'It's the Kaitlyn Show': How Kaitlyn Chen went from Princeton's X-factor to Ivy League Player of the Year". The Next. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Adamec, Carl (June 17, 2024). "Why Kaitlyn Chen transferred to UConn women's basketball team from Princeton: 'Vibe for this place'". CT Insider. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Team Taurasi – California Storm Basketball". Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  6. ^ Rich, Charles (April 18, 2018). "All-Area Girls' Basketball Player of the Year: Chen delivers for Flintridge Prep". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Escarcega, James (March 21, 2019). "Keppel's Vanessa Aguirre and Flintridge Prep's Kaitlyn Chen lead 2019 Star-News Girls Basketball All-Area Team". Pasadena Star-News. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Escarcega, James (April 1, 2020). "2020 All-Area Girls Basketball: Madelyn Roel, Kaitlyn Chen and Joleen Corona earn player of year honors". San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  9. ^ "Kaitlyn Chen 2020 High School Girls' Basketball Profile". ESPN. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  10. ^ a b Hatfield, Jenn (May 9, 2024). "What's in Storrs for Kaitlyn Chen?". The Next. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  11. ^ "Princeton vs. Villanova Box Score (Women), November 10, 2021". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  12. ^ a b "Princeton 69-62 Kentucky (Mar 19, 2022) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  13. ^ "Indiana 56-55 Princeton (Mar 21, 2022) Box Score". ESPN. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  14. ^ a b Vanoni, Maggie (May 3, 2024). "Why Princeton grad transfer Kaitlyn Chen could 'thrive' for UConn women's basketball: 'A great duo'". CT Insider. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Kaitlyn Chen 2022-23 Stats per Game - NCAAW". ESPN. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
  16. ^ Ha, Allison (October 29, 2023). "Kaitlyn Chen named to Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Preseason Watch List". The Daily Princetonian. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  17. ^ "Kaitlyn Chen 2023-24 Stats per Game - NCAAW". ESPN. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
  18. ^ "Kaitlyn Chen Signs with UConn". University of Connecticut Athletics. May 1, 2024. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  19. ^ "Princeton Tigers 2023-24 Women's College Basketball Stats (sorted by PTS)". ESPN. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
  20. ^ "Princeton Tigers 2023-24 Women's College Basketball Stats (sorted by AST)". ESPN. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
  21. ^ Beverton-Smith, Alex (December 13, 2023). "Kaitlyn Chen's career-high 31 points carry women's basketball to win over Villanova". The Daily Princetonian. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  22. ^ "Kaitlyn Chen - Women's Basketball". University of Connecticut Athletics. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  23. ^ Creme, Charlie (2024-05-02). "Women's transfer rankings: There's a new No. 1 (and No. 2)". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  24. ^ Vanoni, Maggie (May 3, 2024). "Why Princeton grad transfer Kaitlyn Chen could 'thrive' for UConn women's basketball: 'A great duo'". CT Insider. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  25. ^ Philippou, Alexa (April 28, 2024). "UConn women's basketball adds Princeton transfer Kaitlyn Chen". ESPN. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  26. ^ "UConn's Bueckers, Strong Voted BIG EAST Preseason Player and Freshman of the Year". bigeast.com. 2024-10-23. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  27. ^ "Kaitlyn Chen College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
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