Truong averaged 11.4 points per game, 2.3 rebounds, and 5.8 assists through 36 games this season. She totaled 411 points, 208 assists, 84 rebounds, and 48 steals—stats that landed her on the first team all West Coast Conference. Her identical twin sister, Kayleigh Truong, also played for Gonzaga.
The Mystics finished 7th overall in the WNBA last season and made it to the playoffs but fell to the New York Liberty in round one.
Who are Kayleigh and Kaylynne Truong?
The Truongs began their careers in Houston, Texas. They knew they wanted to play together in college, and they and found their home in Gonzaga, where they became the first Asian American twins to play Division I basketball.
It’s been a career full of rollercoasters for the 5-9 twins, particularly Kayleigh. The guard was a first-team All-WCC selection in 2022, but she barely competed in the following season. She suffered an ankle injury in November that kept her off the court for 23 games of her senior season, though she returned for the five final games.
Since the Zags were missing their leading scorer in the 2022-23 season, Kaylynne knew she she’d have to fill in for her sister’s absence. She averaged 15.8 points per game and 5.0 assists to earn WCC Player of the Year and her first all-conference first-team selection. She added an AP All-American honorable mention to her resume.
Abbey Hsu selected in the 3rd round of the WNBA Draft
Senior guard Abbey Hsu has been drafted to the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun. As Columbia’s first ever women’s basketball player to be drafted, Hsu caps off her illustrious, record-breaking career with the Lions with yet another accomplishment.
At the 2024 draft ceremony in Brooklyn on Monday, which featured stars such as University of Iowa guard Caitlin Clark and Louisiana State University forward Angel Reese, Hsu went 34th overall. If she makes the roster for the season, she may play alongside fellow rookies Taiyanna Jackson of the University of Kansas and the University of Arizona’s Helena Pueyo.
While Hsu is the first Lion to be drafted in program history, Kaitlyn Davis, CC ’23, was drafted 35th to the New York Liberty. Others have made WNBA preseason rosters, such as Camille Zimmerman, CC ’18, who signed a contract with the Minnesota Lynx in 2018 and Judie Lomax, BC ’10, who briefly signed with the Connecticut Sun.
Monday’s draft closes out Hsu’s stellar senior year in which she led the Lions to their second straight Ivy League regular season championship and their first-ever March Madness appearance, raising not just her own profile but also that of Columbia basketball as a whole.
Hsu’s career with the Light Blue has been remarkable, with highlights including breaking Columbia basketball’s all-time scoring record and earning national recognition with an AP All-American Honorable Mention in her senior season. Alongside these milestones, the Florida native was named the 2023-24 Ivy League Player of the Year.
Hsu’s scoring average of 20.4 points per game this season ranks 21st in the nation, above other members of her draft class including seventh-pick Reese and second-pick Stanford University guard Cameron Brink. Hsu holds the Columbia record for overall three-pointers made, with 375 across her collegiate career—the Lion with the second-highest number of three-pointers made in program history is Melissa Shafer, CC ’12, with 166. Hsu’s shooting percentage from beyond the arc places her among the top 50 in the nation this season.
The Florida native ends her time at Columbia as one of the all-time greatest players in the program and Ivy League, where her 2,126 career points see her ranked third in women’s basketball conference history. Head coach Megan Griffith, CC ’07, recognized the impact Hsu has had on basketball at Columbia following the Lions’ March Madness exit March 20.
“She’s gonna go have a long pro career wherever she is,” Griffith said in a postgame press conference. “She did so much for this program. She left the jersey in a better place, that’s all we can ask our players to do.”
Hsu’s collegiate career may be over, but her time with the Light Blue will not be forgotten.
