Valkyries’ Natalie Nakase credits Kaitlyn Chen’s offseason work for opening night dominance

It was not a mistake that Kaitlyn Chen made the Golden State Valkyries final 12-player roster, and she proved it in their 91-80 season-opener win over the Seattle Storm on the road.

In 16 minutes off the bench, Chen finished with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting and +10 plus/minus, providing a much-needed spark after the offense began the game 1-of-7 from the field. Next to Chen off the bench, Janelle Salaün added a team-high 20 points on 5-of-11 from the 3-point line to go along with Veronica Burton’s 16 points and 6 assists as the Valkyries blitzed a young and overwhelmed Storm team.

After the game, coach Natalie Nakase had nothing but praise for Chen’s big night.

“Kaitlyn stepped up in terms of scoring,” Nakase said. “Was nice to see her throw a couple of punches. And then obviously Ja [Salaün] coming off the bench. That was really nice. She came to life with her ability to shoot.”

In some ways, it’s quite the breakout game for Chen. Just a week ago, the second-year guard out of UConn was on the bubble, fighting for a spot on the roster. However, retracing Chen’s steps toward this moment, the cookie crumbs were always there for her to find success with the Valkyries, even if it was a little hard to see.

“I just felt more comfortable as the game went on, and I feel like it’s just nothing different than what we’ve been working on in practice,” Chen said nonchalantly after her big night.

“It definitely feels good. And I mean, it’s fun to play with these guys. It’s fun to be playing with Janelle again. But yeah, I feel like it was a great start for us, and we’re looking to just build off of it.”

How Kaitlyn Chen’s offseason helped

And one of those cookie crumbs was the work she did in the offseason playing overseas for USK Praha of the Czech Women’s Basketball League and in the Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball league.

Those leagues gave Chen the minutes and the space to develop the dribbling, the shooting, and the finishing she displayed against the Storm, culminating in the rainbow layup she got past Seattle’s star shotblocker, Dominique Malonga.

“Taking over when needed,” Nakase said when asked what she thinks Chen learned from her work over the offseason.

“She’s been working. That’s credit to her in the offseason, right? Just putting in extra time. She came, you know, to the bay for a couple of weeks too, to work on her game after she went to overseas… So just her ability to score on all three levels, that’s basically what she did. And I mean, you saw her playing AU. She just took over games. It was really nice to kind of see that carry over.”

How the rest of the Valkyries fared in the season opener

Beyond Chen and Salaün, there was a lot to like from the other Valkyries. Laeticia Amihere, Kaila Charles, and Cecilia Zandalasini all looked impressive off the bench, providing a spark to the clunky offense start to the game.

Amihere in particular is going to be important for Golden State with her and Kiah Stokes being the only real centers on the roster now that Iliana Rupert is out for the season with her pregnancy. When Nakase needed offense, she used Amihere’s ball-handling skills to give the Valkyries a real five-out threat on offense, which forced the Storm bigs to be uncomfortable on the perimeter.

However, Zandalasini and Tiffany Hayes both left mid-game due to a jaw injury and a left pinky injury and did not return. With how thin the roster is with Rupert out and Juste Jocyte still overseas, the Valkyries cannot afford to lose more depth. Nakase did not have an update on either player’s status, but mentioned both players were in good spirits post-game in the locker room.

Nakase also said there are some things they need to clean up, namely their defense, which she said, clearly annoyed, that it did not show up until the third quarter. Not to mention a quiet debut for Gabby Williams, who finished with only seven points on 2-of-9 shooting. The Valkyries are still figuring out how to use her as there was some miscommunication and spacing issues that can only be ironed out with time.

But overall, it was a strong showing from Golden State. Especially from Chen, who believes this is only the beginning for the Valkyries.

“We can do better. There are definitely parts where we look good, but there’s always room for improvements. Only the first game of the year. I would hope we get better.”

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