Kaitlyn Chen helps lift UConn to Tampa for her "first and last Final Four"

In the second round, KK Arnold set the tone on defense for the Huskies. In Saturday’s win over Oklahoma it was Ashlynn Shade with 12 points and 4 steals off the bench. On Monday night, with a trip to the Final Four on the line, it was Kaitlyn Chen’s turn to provide the boost the Huskies needed to get to Tampa.

“Somebody else [besides Paige Bueckers and Sarah Strong] has to step up and I thought Kaitlyn was fantastic tonight,” Geno Auriemma said. “Probably more than anything, I'm really proud of her because she left [Princeton], took a chance. ‘I want to go to the Final Four, I want to try to play for a national championship.’ I'm glad that we're able to provide the opportunity for her.”

Chen had 15 points on 6-9 shooting from the floor in UConn’s 78-64 victory over USC in the Elite Eight. But the impact of her performance was less about how many points she scored as it was when she scored them.

Chen impacted the game on the offensive end in the biggest moments of the night. The first time came at the end of the second quarter when UConn had the lead but struggled to create any real separation with halftime looming.

Insert Chen, who got up the floor for back-to-back transition layups as the half wound down. On the second, she converted the three-point play, putting together a 5-0 run of her own.

“It was my teammates that found me in transition,” She said. “I did the easy part. I just ran up the court.”

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