A brief moment that was supposed to be an ode to precision turned into one defined by a bizarreness for Kaitlyn Chen.

The moment unfolded on Wednesday at the AU Pro Basketball league, where Chen was competing for Team Rhythm against Team Glow. The reality set in the fourth quarter of the game when a foul on Chen for what was a simple celebration prompted the fans to push back against the officials.

With Team Glow leading at 61-66, Chen drove towards the basket aggressively to score a near-perfect jump shot to bridge the gap down to three points. Her celebration included just a spirited cheer-up followed by an “And-1” call to the referee for a foul. But what followed was immensely surprising: the officials immediately issued her a technical foul, sending Team Glow to the free-throw line. Chen handled the situation with poise, though, and just stood on the court smiling.

From the broadcast room, the moment got a playful reaction from Sydney Colson. “A Kaitlyn Chen technical? Let’s go. I can’t wait to talk to her after this,” one voice said.

Kayana Taylor failed to convert from the line in the next sequence of play. Thus, it didn’t cause much harm to the scoring in a back-and-forth tighrope game.

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

By the end of the game, Chen had logged 14 points in her 35-minute stay on the court. Her precise shooting was on display yet again, scoring 5 of 8 from open play for 75% and 2 of 2 from the deep. Chen complemented her captain, Rebekah Gardner, perfectly, who led with a team-high 18 points in the game. Yet despite these performances, Team Rhythm lost the matchup by a narrow 2-point margin (78-80).

However, the spotlight from the game fell entirely on the bizarre officiating call. Fans didn’t take too long to call out the officials, even tying it to other similar officiating incidents.

Fans React to Bizarre Kaitlyn Chen Foul

“These refs carry way too much power. The rules need to be re-examined at this point,” a fan wrote.

“So refs are soft everywhere?” questioned another.

Suspectible officiating isn’t something new in women’s basketball. Be it WNBA, NCAAW, or Unrivaled, there have been instances when games were badly affected by officials’ decisions. Frequent whistles and inconsistencies are terms coaches often use to describe officiating at this end of the spectrum.

Kaitlyn Chen’s head coach at the Golden State Valkyries, Natalia Nakase, also raised her voice against WNBA officiating last season.

The instance occurred during the first round of the playoffs against the Minnesota Lynx. After Game 1, the Valkyries coach had called on officials to give her team a “fair fight,” saying the officiating had tilted in favor of the opposition. She later revealed that she was fined for those comments. All in all, the calls, similar to the above comments, have been synchronous: Give women’s basketball a better outlook, starting with the officiating.

“I’m seeing this is a UConn thing 😂,” commented another.

“Didn’t @paigebueckers get her technical for the exact same reason?” wrote another.

The netizens also didn’t hesitate to draw parallels between this incident and the one involving her former UConn teammate, Paige Bueckers. It took place last season in the WNBA, where Bueckers and the Dallas Wings faced off against the Connecticut Sun. Bueckers made an appeal to the official regarding an alleged contact, stating, “And one.”

The officials handed Bueckers a technical instead, which was another bizarre incident. “I clapped twice and I said ‘And one!’ And he said I clapped in his face. So, that’s all,” Bueckers said while explaining how the situation unfolded. Yet despite that, there isn’t much to validate that it’s a trait they picked up simply from being on the same team, the UConn Huskies.

“very much on brand for the huskies cause they will laugh about anything😂😂😂😂,” remarked another.

Sure, it’s fun to joke that the Huskies are always laughing, and it’s easy to see why. We’ve seen plenty of moments of Chen and Bueckers having fun during their time at UConn and even as pros. But in general, that doesn’t quite capture the Huskies.

Guided by a veteran coach like Geno Auriemma, the UConn Huskies women’s basketball players are some of the most no-nonsense players in the league. Be it young stars like Bueckers or Chen, or seasoned vets like Tina Charles and Breanna Stewart, the focus for them is pinpoint on their business on the court.

After all, it isn’t just the UConn players who have been recipients of questionable officiating. Several head coaches, including Kim Mulkey, Dawn Staley, and Vic Schaefer, have at times faced it. Thus, it might be an overexaggeration of the same incident involving the UConn players.