2 months ago
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Surprises have been around every corner in the Golden State Valkyries' inaugural campaign in the WNBA - with the team performing much better than expected and stars winning over the hearts of the Bay Area.
Among those up-and-coming stars is rookie Kaitlyn Chen, who is fresh off winning a national title at UConn and played her way back into the WNBA after initially being waived.
The Valkyries drafted her 30th overall in the third round, but waived her in May. However, her strong play in a 3x3 league led to a contract with the team and turned her into a key rotation piece.
All the time she's getting is at least one testament to her hard work. Another could be the shape she's in, which attracted praise and attention from her own teammate, Kate Martin.
The Valkyries posted a video of Chen arriving before a contest against the Indiana Fever earlier this week and Martin sounded off in the comments.
'Your quads go so hard @kaitlyn.chen,' Martin wrote underneath the post.
Golden State guard Kate Martin was caught ogling at her teammate's muscle definition
Martin left a comment under this video of Kaitlyn Chen saying Chen's quads 'go so hard'
Chen's perseverance after getting waived has seen her turn into a key player for Golden State
Chen appeared to jokingly fight the praise in response, saying, '@katemartin how do you dislike a comment'.
Chen played a role in Golden State's victory over the Fever - shooting 2-of-3 and logging five points, one rebound, three assists, and two steals in 14 minutes of action.
Martin did a decent job for herself as well, dropping five points and two rebounds in 19 minutes as she was able to beat her fellow former Iowa Hawkeye guard Caitlin Clark in a 80-61 victory earlier in the week.
The Valkyries are the surprise of the league this year. While many projected they'd struggle in their first season, the Valkyries are in line for a playoff spot.
At the time of publishing, Golden State is sitting sixth in the WNBA's standings and fourth in the Western Conference standings.
