"Wouldn't trade it for the world": National champion Paige Bueckers sums up facing adversity and other lessons she learned at UConn

Paige Bueckers has seen it all in her five years at UConn, with all its ups and downs. Everything came to be worth it on Sunday night in Tampa, Florida, as she and her teammates cut down the nets to celebrate the program's 12th national championship.

Bueckers reflected on the adversity she has faced since arriving in Storrs as the top recruit in the country after the Huskies' national championship win over South Carolina, where she finished with 17 points.

"It's been a story of resilience, of gratitude, of adversity, of overcoming adversity and just responding to life's challenges," Bueckers said postgame (2:45), "trying to fuel them to make me a better person, a better player, and continue to grow in my leadership abilities and being a great teammate.

"Just an overwhelming sense of gratitude for everything that's happened through the ups and downs. I wouldn't trade it for the world — to be able to be shaped to be the person that I am today and the team that we are today ... we kept the faith, and to be rewarded with something like this, you can't really even put it into words."

Paige Bueckers went through multiple minor injuries to a major knee injury that sidelined her for the entire 2022-23 season.

She came back strong last season, posting a career-best 21.9 points per game. The Minnesota native followed that up with similar stats this season and led UConn to the national championship.

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Paige Bueckers reflects on team unity and hard work after championship victory

The UConn team, including Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, Sarah Strong and Kaitlyn Chen, contributed to the victory against South Carolina. The Huskies looked sharp from tipoff, ending the first quarter with a 19-14 lead and maintaining their advantage throughout the game.

When asked about ending her career with a national championship and breaking her title drought, Bueckers emphasized the validation of the team's hard work and team unity.

"Very validating — to all the hard work we put in as individuals and as a team and how much we stuck together through the good times and the bad and how connected we were," Bueckers said postgame (4:07).

"We've been through a lot on our own as a team, so we feel like nothing that life or basketball can throw at us would ever break us and make us separate."

Paige Bueckers' teammates, Strong and Fudd, both finished with 24 points and combined for 20 rebounds to lead the Huskies