UConn star Kamorea Arnold drops 4-word reaction as teammate Ashlynn Shade recaps stylish moments from 2025 WNBA draft

After lifting the NCAA championship title with the UConn Huskies on April 6, Ashlynn Shade celebrated her visit to the WNBA draft in an Instagram post on Wednesday. The sophomore's snaps were from her trip to the Shed in New York on Monday, when she joined Azzi Fudd and other teammates to root for Paige Bueckers.

Shade posed in a baby blue dress, showcased the skyline of the Big Apple and added a snap with freshman guard Allie Ziebell.

"🍎🗽" she captioned the post.

As fans reacted to Shade's short trip, Huskies guard Kamorea Arnold also dropped in with a four-word comment.

"DONT HURT EM MAMA😍," she wrote.

Morgan Cheli, Ziebell and Ice Brady also joined in.

"Gorg," Cheli added.

"Omggg😍," Ziebell reacted.

"Yes ash!" Brady wrote.

Allie Ziebell, Kamorea Arnold, Ice Brady and others react to Ashlynn Shade's IG post | via @therealashlynn12/ig

Paige Bueckers, who was predicted to go No. 1 in the 2025 WNBA draft, was the top pick of the event on Monday. Joining her were two other UConn players, Kaitlyn Chen and Aubrey Griffin, who were picked 30th and 37th overall, respectively.

The Huskies are fresh off winning their 12th NCAA championship, which came after a gap of eight years. Despite the star power of Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong in the lineup, the program's success came from the team's camaraderie and friendship.

"I saw on social media, they were saying UConn won based on the power of friendship. It's so accurate," Bueckers said.

Geno Auriemma said he takes Ashlynn Shade for granted

Even though her overall stats declined this season, Ashlynn Shade's impact played a significant role in UConn's domination. She posted her best shooting season, making 41.1% of her 3-point shots and averaging 7.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.3 assists.

"I know that I am guilty of taking Ashlynn Shade for granted," Huskies coach Geno Auriemma said before the Huskies faced USC in the NCAA Tournament in the Elite Eight.

"Probably the thing I appreciate the most about her is that she's my target for everything that goes wrong on the team, and I appreciate that she doesn’t hold it against me personally."

Auriemma's comments came right after Ashlynn Shade's sharpshooting helped the program oust Oklahoma in the Sweet 16. Her best game of the regular season came against Iowa State on Dec. 17, where she posted 27 points and four assists on 7 of 10 makes from the arc.