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UConn women's basketball adds Princeton guard Kaitlyn Chen from transfer portal

By Ian Casselberry, Yahoo Sports

NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament - First Round - Iowa City IOWA CITY, IOWA - MARCH 23: Kaitlyn Chen #20 of the Princeton Tigers dribbles the ball against the West Virginia Mountaneers during the first round of the 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament held at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 23, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Rebecca Gratz/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) (Rebecca Gratz/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

By Ian Casselberry, Yahoo Sports

The UConn women's basketball team is adding the Ivy League Player of the Year from the transfer portal.

Kaitlyn Chen has committed to the Huskies after playing the previous three years at Princeton. under former UConn forward Carla Berube. She announced her transfer on Sunday morning via social media.

The 5-foot-9 senior was Princeton's leading scorer for the past two seasons. Last season, she won Ivy League Player of the Year honors by averaging 15.8 points, 4.9 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.

Chen has been even better in the postseason, averaging 20.3 points in eight games and winning Ivy League tournament Most Outstanding Player honors during the past two seasons. Princeton made the NCAA women's tournament during each of Chen's three seasons. This year, the Tigers lost to West Virginia in the first round.

Against top competition, Chen excelled in matchups versus UCLA (24 points), Oklahoma (20 points) and Villanova (31 points). She also scored 18 points against UConn in a 2024 game.

"In any big situation she rises to the occasion and the challenge," Berube told CT Insider's Carl Adamec in February. "She doesn't back down in the bright lights and she's ready to do what her team needs for us to be successful. She did that against UCLA this year and the Ivy League tournament last year and the year before. She's tough, gritty."

The 5-foot-9 senior is expected to start at point guard, replacing Nika Muhl, who left for the WNBA after this past season. She and Paige Bueckers (who averaged 21 points per game last season) should give the Huskies a formidable backcourt along with Azzi Fudd and KK Arnold as they pursue another Women's Final Four and national championship.

UConn also added the nation's No. 1 recruit, Sarah Strong, shortly after losing to Iowa in the Final Four.

Chen committed to UConn after visiting Storrs last Tuesday. She will transfer as a graduate student, having one last season of eligibility due to the NCAA's COVID-19 waiver. The Ivy League does not provide student-athletes with a fifth year of eligibility, putting Chen in a position where she had to transfer to keep playing.

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