Kaitlyn Chen, Princeton women keep dominating as they punch their NCAA ticket
In the afterglow of their 77-59 title game win over Columbia, the Tigers deserve their due.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Kaitlyn Chen put up 18 points in Princeton’s Ivy Madness semifinal win over Harvard on Friday, but coach Carla Berube mentioned in passing that Chen was in disbelief over losing six turnovers.
Berube also did a remarkable bit of foreshadowing without knowing it. “It’s tough for a young player like that,” she said, “but I think the confidence that her teammates have in her, she’s ready for these moments.”
We didn’t yet know that Chen, a sophomore in her first NCAA season, would post a career high the very next day, dominating second-seeded Columbia for the second time in three weeks.
Chen scored 30. Princeton won 42. As in, the Tigers’ 42nd straight game against an Ivy League rival.
It’s difficult to put in perspective what the program has accomplished without relying on hyperbole. But on Saturday night, in the afterglow of their 77-59 title game win over Columbia, the Tigers deserve their due.
“At the end of the day, me, Coach, Kaitlyn, we’re all pieces to a puzzle and it’s a successful puzzle,” Ivy League Player of the Year Abby Meyers said. “We’re going to keep on going and we’re just happy to be a part of that group that has got to 42 straight wins.”
Chen was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. She shot 9-for-13 and made 11 free throws Saturday to eclipse her previous career best of 27 points, also set against this legitimately good Columbia team. It’s hard to overstate how talented she is driving to the basket and picking her spots in and around the paint:
Columbia coach Megan Griffith posited that Chen has a great role model in Meyers, someone who plays with enormous confidence and can show Chen how that looks. When Meyers entered the interview room moments later, the first words out of her mouth proved Griffith right.
“I told (Chen) before we played Harvard, before we played Columbia today, that this is your time to shine, this is your platform, your spotlight,” Meyers said. “Show them what you’re made of.”
“It helps knowing my teammates have my back and they’re always there for me,” Chen added. “They keep telling me to shoot.”
If you’re new to this team, or frankly, if you’re new to following women’s sports in general, it’s never too late to start. Princeton has a strong defensive backbone and five starters who can more or less score at will. Ellie Mitchell didn’t score Saturday, but she grabbed her usual 10 rebounds along with four steals. It’s a group whose weaknesses are hard to identify.
Bracket projections have Princeton (24-4 overall) as a No. 10 seed as of Saturday night, meaning it could meet a No. 2 seed in the Round of 32. Should that No. 2 happen to be women’s basketball dynasty UConn, it would create some interesting connections. Berube played for Geno Auriemma on his first national championship team, an undefeated squad in 1995.
And apparently, UConn stars Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd swung through town to check out the tournament.
Whatever awaits the Tigers next week will have been a long time coming. Their undefeated 2019-20 Ivy season did not culminate in any postseason run due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Berube said Saturday that she thought of Bella Alaire, Taylor Baur and the other players from that team as the Tigers cut down the nets.
Then came the lost 2020-21 year. “It was sort of tough watching everyone else play last year while we were just in Jadwin, working,” Chen said.
But while they were out of the public eye, Berube pointed out, it was still an important year. Chen learned the ropes from Meyers; Meyers learned how to take the reins as a captain and leader.
“And that’s when I figured that Kaitlyn can really ball,” Meyers chimed in.
The Ivy League Tournament stage wasn’t too big for Chen and company. At long last, the Tigers will take the next step to the national bracket and set out to prove themselves there as well.
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Thanks for reading a special Saturday night edition of Guarden State. I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to cover some postseason hoops in person, and I have a bit more in the works very soon.
I’d be remiss not mentioning here that Saint Peter’s defeated Monmouth in the MAAC Tournament final earlier Saturday, and I’m feeling a few pangs of regret that I missed that all-Jersey finale. But these women deserved the spotlight tonight, and there will be time for me to catch up on that MAACtion in Monday’s newsletter. Till then, get your brackets ready and enjoy Selection Sunday!