Geno Auriemma gushes over Paige Bueckers' final season with UConn: "Storybook ending for her" 

Geno Auriemma and Paige Bueckers will forever be remembered as one of the best player-coach duos in NCAA basketball history. Auriemma recalled their final season together at UConn during Tuesday's interview with NYSE TV Senior Content Creator Kristen Scholer.

Auriemma made the trip to the New York Stock Exchange to ring the opening bell. He was assigned that prestigious honor in celebration of the Huskies capturing their record-extending 12th NCAA title last month. Scholer caught up with Auriemma on the trading floor and asked the legendary coach what it meant for Bueckers to end her final year at UConn on top with a national championship.

"That’s every kid’s dream, right? To win your last game of your career, to leave as a national champion,” Auriemma said. “I’m sure when shooting baskets in her backyard when she was five years old, thinking this is for the national championship.

"Everybody has those dreams but not everybody gets a chance to make them come true. So storybook ending for her. They don’t always end like this, especially after she had been through so many injuries and so many setbacks," he added.

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Auriemma also praised Bueckers for the way she handled adversity during her college basketball career.

"I just think it’s a great story of resilience for a kid who loves basketball and who treats the game the right way so couldn’t be happier for anybody."

How Paige Bueckers fared in her final season under Geno Auriemma at UConn

Paige Bueckers was on a mission to claim her first NCAA title in the 2024-25 season and deliver the program's 12th national championship. She helped the UConn Huskies finish the regular season with a 28-3 slate, leading the team in scoring and assists. They claimed the Big East regular-season title in style, winning all 18 of their conference games.

Paige Bueckers (#5) of the UConn Huskies poses for a championship portrait after defeating the South Carolina Gamecocks during the Division I Women's Basketball Championship game at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Photo: Getty

Bueckers added another title to her trophy cabinet, leading UConn to victory in the Big East Tournament. She stuffed the stat sheet in the Huskies' 70-50 win over the Creighton Bluejays in the finals, recording 24 points, eight boards, three dimes, two blocks and two steals.

Bueckers continued putting impressive numbers in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, scoring at least 30 points in three March Madness games. She erupted for a career-high 40 points in the Sweet 16 against Oklahoma before averaging 21.3 points in UConn's final three wins against USC, UCLA and South Carolina.

Bueckers racked up 17 points in her final college basketball game, leading UConn to an 82-59 win over the Gamecocks and securing her first national championship.