Ex-POTUS Barack Obama congratulates Paige Bueckers, Geno Auriemma, Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong as UConn wins NCAA title

In her final game as a Husky, Paige Bueckers claimed the only honor that had eluded her - a national championship. UConn defeated defending champion South Carolina 82–59 on Sunday, ending a nine-year title drought and capturing a record 12th NCAA crown under coach Geno Auriemma.

Former President Barack Obama took to X to congratulate the team, singling out Bueckers, Sarah Strong, Azzi Fudd, and Auriemma.

“Congratulations to Coach Auriemma, Paige Bueckers, Sarah Strong, Azzi Fudd and all the Huskies for winning the NCAA Championship!” he wrote.

Barack Obama made NCAA bracket predictions a White House tradition. Every March, he shared his picks through ESPN. He nailed the men's national champion only once, picking North Carolina in 2009 during his first year in office.

In 2016, his final year in the office, he picked Kansas for the men's and UConn for the women's titles. In 2024, he picked UConn to win the men’s title and South Carolina for the women’s. Interestingly, UConn’s men's and women's teams won championships in 2014 and Obama welcomed them to the White House the same year.

Fudd also hit a personal milestone, scoring her 1,000th career point during the title game. Bueckers, meanwhile, sealed a legacy that matches the hype - and the heart - she brought to Storrs.

The emotional peak came when Bueckers checked out for the last time. She and Auriemma shared a 10-second hug on the sideline. She cried. He told her, “I love you.” Later, it was Auriemma wiping away tears.

“[This] is one of the most emotional Final Fours and national championships I’ve been a part of,” he said. “Since that very first.”

Paige Bueckers and UConn shattered a record that stood for decades

With Sunday’s national title win, UConn’s women’s basketball team now holds 12 NCAA championships - surpassing the UCLA men’s program, which won 11 between 1964 and 1995.

Paige Bueckers scored 17 points in the final, completing a long road back from a torn ACL that sidelined her in 2022. She owns the highest career scoring average in UConn history at 19.9 points per game, ahead of the program’s many legends.

Before this season, Bueckers had played on the only UConn team to lose in the national title game. Last year, they didn’t make it past the Final Four.

But now, UConn is back on top, adding another chapter to its dominant run - one that includes four straight titles from 2013 to 2016.