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Angel Reese reacts to Paige Bueckers, UConn winning 2025 national title

Chandler Vesselsby:Chandler Vessels•04/06/25•

ChandlerVessels

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Pamela Smith-Imagn Images

Angel Reese had praise for not only Paige Bueckers, but also the entire 2020 class after Connecticut claimed the 2025 national championship. The Huskies, led by Bueckers, coasted to an 82-59 win against South Carolina on Sunday to win their first title since 2016.

Reese, who led LSU to a national championship in the 2022 season, was among the many fans who tuned in to watch the action. She took to X after the game went final to offer her congrats to Buckers and highlight what the 2020 class has done as a whole.

“2020 class has done so many special things for the game,” she wrote.

The 2020 recruiting class for women’s basketball was filled with future stars from top to bottom. Of course it included Reese and Bueckers, but also stars such as Caitlin Clark, Hailey Van Lith, Kamilla Cardoso and Cameron Brink.

Aside from Reese and Bueckers, Cardoso also won a national title in 2024 with South Carolina. Many of those players were rookies in the WNBA this past season, and Buckers as well as Van Lith will join them for the 2025 season.

Bueckers is projected to be the top pick in the upcoming 2025 WNBA Draft after averaging 20.0 points and 4.7 assists per game this past season. She’ll join Reese and others in continuing to usher in the new era of women’s basketball.

Paige Bueckers, Geno Auriemma share heartwarming embrace after title win

Paige Bueckers waited five years for this moment and it finally came on Sunday as Connecticut claimed a national championship. In the waning seconds of a 82-59 win against South Carolina, the Huskies guard stopped to take in the emotions.

Bueckers walked over to coach Geno Auriemma, whom she hugged for several moments. All those years of hard work and the obstacles she had overcome to get here had finally come to fruition.

“I mean, they’ve all been gratifying. Don’t get me wrong. But, this one here, because of the way it came about and what’s been involved? Um, it’s been a long time since I’ve been that emotional when a player’s walked off the court,” Auriemma said.

“I love you,” Auriemma said was his message to her in that moment. “That’s all I can say. I love you.”

Bueckers won the AP Player of the Year award as a true freshman in 2020-21, setting expectations high for the remainder of her career. However, she played only 17 games as a sophomore as she battled injuries.

The hardships only continued to come as Bueckers suffered a torn ACL while playing a pickup game before the 2022-23 season. That forced her to miss all of that year, but she never gave up, eyeing her comeback.

Paige Bueckers returned in 2023-24 to average a career-high 21.9 points per game as UConn once again fell short in the Final Four. Instead of declaring for the WNBA Draft, however, she opted to return to school for her fifth season in search of a national championship.

Her determination to do so was evident all throughout the season, especially in the Huskies’ tournament games. UConn won all six of its March Madness contests by double digits, including defeating UCLA by 34 points in the Final Four to reach the title game.