{"id":2465,"date":"2026-06-18T18:38:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T18:38:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2465"},"modified":"2026-06-18T18:38:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T18:38:56","slug":"chensanity-why-kaitlyn-chens-big-night-is-exactly-what-the-valkyries-needed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2465","title":{"rendered":"Chensanity! Why Kaitlyn Chen\u2019s big night is exactly what the Valkyries needed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 <\/span>Kaitlyn Chen<\/span> doesn\u2019t play for the spotlight.<\/span><\/p>\n

She never has.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But against the Dallas Wings on <\/span>Wednesday<\/span>, the spotlight found her. And the Valkyries were better for it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Palisades fire defendant\u2019s behavior was consistent with someone seeking societal revenge, excitement, expert testifies at arson trial<\/a><\/p>\n

Chen<\/span>, who went from third-round pick to roster cut to earning a spot on this year\u2019s team, erupted for one of her best games of the season in Golden State\u2019s 91-80 win over the Wings. The former Princeton and Connecticut standout came off the bench and scored 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting in 25 minutes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was the kind of night that made coach Natalie Nakase and the rest of the organization look like prophets for believing in her. And in a moment when the Valkyries needed energy, cohesion and someone willing to play with pure, unencumbered joy, Chen \u2013 who turned bright red when teammate Gabby Williams said she was fun to play with \u2013 might be exactly the spark off the bench that the team has been looking for.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe has fun when she plays,\u201d Williams said of Chen. \u201cWhen I\u2019m playing alongside someone who\u2019s celebrating her teammates, who\u2019s celebrating herself, that\u2019s fun to celebrate too. Even when she\u2019s not on the court, you hear her on the bench. She\u2019s always talking during timeouts, and so it just lifts your energy up, and you just feel looser when you play.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After the first 10 minutes of play, the Valkyries looked like a team that didn\u2019t belong on the floor with the Wings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Golden State played uncharacteristically, giving up open shots and turning the ball over at inopportune times. They needed anything that would give it a spark.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

That spark came in Chen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Valkyries went on a 19-0 run in the second quarter, led by Chen\u2019s offensive brilliance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The 5-foot-9 ball handler got to the rim at will and finished several of her drives with a package of crafty hook shots.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nothing encapsulated Chen\u2019s pure joy more than her bank shot 3-pointer late in the second.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

After Kayla Thornton missed a shot from the left corner, guard Kaila Charles came flying in for an offensive rebound. Charles turned and found a wide-open Chen near the top of the key and the second-year guard shot the ball over the outstretched arms of 6-foot-6 Wings center Awak Kuier.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Chen watched as the ball hit the backboard and bounced safely into the net as she ran back smiling and laughing at what she just saw.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like they put me in a position to succeed and they kept encouraging me,\u201d Chen said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more PG&E customers warned of \u2018barcode scam\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Her seven points and two assists in the period were followed by loud cheers from the Chase Center crowd as Golden State\u2019s momentum got bigger with each play that Chen made.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Chen eventually closed the game and was lauded by Nakase for her conditioning after she played 14 straight minutes in the second half.<\/span><\/p>\n

But even as Chen played arguably her best game of her career on Wednesday, something extra might have been motivating the 24-year-old guard.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dallas\u2019 roster included two of Chen\u2019s former UConn teammates \u2014 Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd \u2014 and if Chen had any extra motivation, Williams was happy to out her.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the locker room she had pictures with X\u2019s on their faces,\u201d Williams said jokingly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bueckers was complimentary of her former teammate, telling reporters after the game that Chen has one of the best layup packages she\u2019s ever seen.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKaitlyn has always worked hard, and she\u2019s always had it in her. When the opportunity has been given to her, she\u2019s run with it,\u201d Bueckers said. \u201cShe\u2019s confident and she affects the game in so many different ways.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Wednesday\u2019s performance may have reshaped how Nakase deploys her bench going forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

If Chen can sustain this level of play, she gives the Valkyries another reliable guard and scorer off the bench to complement an already deep roster. It also buys the coaching staff more time and flexibility to develop rookie Just\u0117 Jo\u010dyt\u0117, whom Golden State is converting into a point guard.<\/span><\/p>\n

For a team with championship aspirations, having a player like Chen emerge as a dependable option is the kind of depth that wins in June and July.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nakase didn\u2019t need much convincing about what she saw Wednesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a testament to how much she puts into the game,\u201d Nakase said. \u201cThere\u2019s just so much behind the scenes you guys don\u2019t see. At the end of the day she showed up tonight and she let everything she worked on flourish.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more SpaceX shares fall for second straight day after 49% jump<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chen scores 15 points, ignites Valkyries run in second quarter in win over Dallas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nChensanity! Why Kaitlyn Chen\u2019s big night is exactly what the Valkyries needed - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2465\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chensanity! 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