Paige Bueckers, UConn capture storybook ending defeating South Carolina to win National Championship.

Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Paige Bueckers flipped up a miraculous shot for a three-point play, ballooning the Huskies' lead to 28 with 7:45 remaining. The crowd erupted as her teammates came to lift her before she connected on a three-point play to give her 17 for the game and put her team up 29. Smiles across the UConn players started to display as the crowd cheered, “Let’s Go, Huskies!” Defeating defending champion South Carolina 82-59.

 It was revenge. Redemption after losing to the in 2022, her sophomore season, the only loss in the national championship in program history.

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Jubilation. It had been nine long years since they celebrated the confetti coming down for a title when they defeated Syracuse 82-51 in 2016—the emotions divulging as Bueckers hugged her coach, Geno Auriemma. It was the moment Bueckers had been waiting for since coming into UConn as the top recruit in a loaded 2020 class that changed the landscape of women’s basketball and featured Caitlin Clark, Cameron Brink, and Angel Reese, to name a few. 

The highs of being named the National Player of the Year as a freshman, being labeled the best player in college basketball, and the adversity she'd face along the way. Despite losing that year in the national championship against South Carolina, the future seemed bright. Nothing seemed like it could get in the way of Bueckers. The next few seasons will show how fragile and unpredictable life can be.

Bueckers would lose two years to injuries with a torn meniscus that cost her 19 games her sophomore season and a torn ACL that cost her the 2022-23 season. The mental fortitude and patience it took to get back where she was. Early mornings, long nights. That rehab process shifted her whole perspective. 

She started doing pilates and working with UConn strength and conditioning coach Chris Smith and athletic trainer Danielle Miller. During that time, Bueckers tapped into her faith more, believing this was an obstacle God had planned for her along her journey.

 Finally returning healthy for the first time in 2023-24 since her arrival at UConn, she returned better than ever. She’d win her second of three Big East Player of the Year awards and be named an All-American once again. Despite playing the best of her career that season, everyone around her was tumbling as a slew of injuries took its toll on the roster and Bueckers.

"I was so worried about all that could go wrong," Bueckers said, "that you can't even do anything right," which all came to a head in the national semifinal when the Huskies fell to Iowa by two.

The agony of losing to Clark and the Hawkeyes in the Final Four in 2023-24, her first healthy season since her arrival, only added more fuel to the fire. Before the season, I asked Bueckers how much it would mean to capitalize on her illustrious career with a national title—the icing on a polarizing, turbulent collegiate career filled with various emotions.

“I don’t even think I could put into words what it would mean… But it would mean everything. Obviously, everything that I’ve been through, me coming back. A lot of my teammates coming back from injury. All the adversity, all the hardships. It would definitely mean everything to cap it off with what we came here for.”

One of those teammates who dealt with their fair share of injuries was Azzi Fudd, who missed last season with a torn ACL and medial meniscus tear. She came back with something to prove, scoring 24, tied for a game-high with star freshman Sarah Strong, who finished with a 24-point double-double as the Huskies Big Three combined for 65 of the 82 points.

As the confetti came down, she celebrated with her teammates, taking in every moment—from those nights of rehabbing with the Connecticut strength and conditioning staff to the countless hours in the gym to ultimately hoist the national title crown. It was the perfect coronation and blend that sums up Buecker's career.

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She now joins a legendary list of UConn Women’s players who have won the title, including Dianna Taurasi, Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart, and Napheesa Collier. Bueckers has indelibly impacted UConn, seeing her at her highest and lowest, finishing as the fastest UConn player to 2,000 career points in 122 career games.

Bueckers helped deliver the Huskies and Auriemma their 12th national championship in program history—the most in NCAA history. It’s a storybook ending for Bueckers and Auriemma. It's a swan song for one of UConn’s most resilient, persevering heroes.

It was everything she could have dreamed of and more.