All-Area Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year: Chen delivers for Flintridge Prep
Kaitlyn Chen joined the Flintridge Prep girls’ basketball team at its zenith.
Still, Chen realized she’d have to wait her turn to possibly guide the Rebels to additional success.
After Renae Tamura and Taylor Yoshida, two stalwarts who helped Flintridge Prep win its first CIF Southern Section championship in 2016, graduated following last season, the path was cleared for the sophomore forward to step in and further elevate the program.
“Kaitlyn knew she had to be patient during her freshman year and her turn would eventually come,” said Flintridge Prep co-coach Kevin Kiyomura. “You could see her talent level and what she was capable of bringing to the team, plus she learned a lot playing with people like Renae and Taylor.
“Kaitlyn learned how to be a leader and get her teammates involved at practice and games. This year was clearly her turn and she more than exceeded our expectations. We saw that in the regular season and throughout the playoffs.”
The results showed, as Chen contributed mightily at both ends of the court.
“I definitely learned so much from Renae and Taylor; they showed me how to be a leader and how to carry myself on and off the court,” Chen said. “I tried to take some of the things they taught me and I used that to help my overall game.
“We had a young team this year and we were going to make mistakes. It’s all about learning from those mistakes and getting better all the time. So I made it a point to stay after practice and work on my shooting, rebounding and defense. Things paid off at the end.”
“Kaitlyn learned how to be a leader and get her teammates involved at practice and games.”
— Flintridge Prep co-coach Kevin Kiyomura
Chen got plenty accomplished, as she averaged an area-best 21.2 points per game and contributed 8.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.8 steals per contest en route to helping the Rebels win the Prep League championship for the fifth season in a row.
Chen, who was named the league’s most valuable player, contributed 24 points, eight rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.8 steals per game in the playoffs and helped Flintridge Prep (24-8, 12-0 in league) advance to the CIF Southern Section Division III-A championship game. Additionally, Chen earned All-CIF Southern Section first-team honors.
It’s because of those accomplishments and more that Chen has been voted the 2017-18 All-Area Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year by the sports writers of the Glendale News-Press, La Cañada Valley Sun and Burbank Leader.
“It’s such an honor to be able to play for Flintridge Prep and we’ve had so much success,” Chen said. “It’s always fun to be able to contribute on the court and play in front of big crowds.
“Our goals coming into the season were to win league and get to at least the quarterfinals. We were able to do all of that and more and it turned out to be magical. It would have been nice to have won CIF, but the players were able to get more experience and it will put us in better position to learn from these experiences heading into next year.”
In Chen’s two seasons at Flintridge Prep, the Rebels are 48-11, 24-0 in league.
“It’s her team and she’s got excellent teammates to help her getter better,” Kiyomura said. “She’s very humble and really doesn’t boast about her accomplishments.”
Chen made her mark in the postseason. Fourth seed Flintridge Prep posted playoff victories against California, Oxnard Pacifica, Cerritos and top seed Oxford Academy before falling to second seed Beverly Hills in the title game.
Chen turned in an outstanding effort in a semifinal contest against host Oxford on Feb. 24. She struggled in the first half, scoring just one point. Chen reversed course in the second half, finishing with 19 points in Flintridge Prep’s 45-40 upset victory.
“That was such a great place to play a game,” Chen said. “I just struggled in the first half and I knew I had to be a lot better in order for us to keep going.
“I made a couple of shots and then got on a roll. It was an unbelievable feeling to play better in the second half and help the team get to the finals.”
Said teammate Andie Kim: “I’ve been playing with Kaitlyn for six years and you see how she can take over and dominate. She did that against Oxford. She did so much damage and it’s because she’s so athletic and can get up and down the court so quickly. It’s such a great experience to play alongside her and call her my teammate.”
The victory put Flintridge Prep back in the championship contest for the second time in three seasons. Unfortunately for Flintridge Prep, its bid for another time fell short following a 50-46 defeat to Beverly Hills on March 3 at Colony High in Ontario.
Chen registered a game-high 19 points and seven rebounds. She made a three-pointer to pull Flintridge Prep to within 47-46 with 29.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter, but the Rebels could get no closer.
“We had a chance to win that game and we had a couple of rough spots at times,” Chen said. “If anything else, we got a taste of what it’s like to get to the championship game and hopefully we’ll get another shot at it.
“We all had a lot of fun this year and we can’t wait for next year.”
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
