Kaitlyn Chen makes history with NCAA women’s basketball title
The UConn Huskies starting guard is the first Taiwanese American to win the championship when her team beat the University of South Carolina Gamecocks on Sunday
The University of Connecticut Huskies won this year’s NCAA women’s basketball championship on Sunday.
UConn Women's Basketball
Words by Quin Scott
On Sunday, the UConn (University of Connecticut) Huskies defeated the University of South Carolina Gamecocks 82-59 to win this year’s NCAA women’s basketball championship. It was a circuitous route back to the championship for UConn, perhaps best exemplified by their starting guard Kaitlyn Chen.
Chen, who is the first Taiwanese American to win the NCAA women’s basketball championship, took a different path than most elite basketball players. She began her college career at Princeton University, a school not typically known for its athletics. The Tigers dominated in Chen’s time there (2021-24), winning three league titles, with Chen picking up Ivy League Player of the Year honors in 2023. Still, it is rare to see a player, even one as accomplished as Chen, make the leap from an Ivy League school to a perennial championship contender like UConn. But when her eligibility with Princeton ran out, that’s exactly what Chen did.
Chen adjusted from being a star at Princeton to a steady role player with the Huskies, supporting their star triumvirate of Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, and Sarah Strong. “I’ve trusted Kaitlyn Chen since the minute she walked on campus,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma told reporters on Saturday, prior to the championship game, and his trust was rewarded with UConn’s first championship since 2016.
Chen’s steady presence supported the team in ways that didn’t always show up in the box score; her two points, one rebound, and four assists in the championship won’t catch anyone’s eye. But when needed, Chen proved that she could step back into her high-scoring ways, such as when she dropped 15 points on University of Southern California in the Elite Eight.
Just as Chen consistently showed up for her team, her parents consistently showed up for her. Sandy Shien and Yeh-Ching Chen regularly traveled across the country from their home in San Marino, California to see UConn play, a gesture that was not lost on their daughter. “It means the world to me,” Kaitlyn has said. “I love when I get to look up in the stands and see them there. It means so much. And they’ve supported me throughout my whole journey. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them and their support. So, I'm just very grateful for that."
With her college career complete, Chen can now look to join the professional ranks, in which few players of Asian descent have found success—as of 2023, only 19 players of Asian descent have played in WNBA.
But since then, Kaitlyne Truong was drafted by the Washington Mystics in 2024, becoming the league’s first Vietnamese American player. And Japanese American Natalie Nakase became the WNBA’s first Asian American coach when she was hired by the Golden State Valkyries that same year. If a professional career is what Chen aspires to, it would be foolish not to think she could make the leap and prove herself at the next level; after all, she’s done it before.
Published on April 10, 2025
Words by Quin Scott
Quin Scott is a writer, painter, and educator in the Pacific Northwest. They like reading, running, and making jokes with their friends.