There aren’t many things that an entire crowd of people will gather outside for on a cold day, but welcoming home the history-making UConn Women’s Basketball Team is one of them. After winning their fourth consecutive, and eleventh total, NCAA Championship, the women returned home to Storrs on Wednesday. April 6.
Due to unseasonable temperatures, the victory lap around Storrs was canceled, but the women were still welcomed back by a crowd gathered outside Gampel Pavilion.
They were welcomed with cheers and applause as each player walked off the bus one-by-one and the trophy, carried by Breanna Stewart, was shown for the first time.
Following the arrival of the bus, Husky fans filed into Gampel for the official rally and prepared to welcome and congratulate the team.
Jonathan the Husky sports a basketball net and watches as fans enter Gampel Pavilion
While everyone took their seats, the UConn Band and Cheerleaders performed and the UConn mascot walked around posing for pictures and high-fiving fans to get them pumped for the rally.
The ceremony featured a video of the highlights from the games in Indianapolis, a speech by UConn’s athletic director, David Benedict, and a speech by Coach Geno Auriemma.
During his speech, Auriemma said he had been asked about his celebration Tuesday night, but told everyone that that night was about the fans and the players and that his celebration would come later.
He also addressed a question that had been on everyone’s mind: will senior Morgan Tuck be returning to play for the Huskies again next year?
After everything that the Huskies were able to accomplish, however, Tuck believed it would be best to end her career on such a successful note. She’ll be heading to the WNBA with Breanna Stewart and Moriah Jefferson. (The WNBA Draft will be happening Thursday, April 14th at 7pm at the Mohegan Sun Arena.)
The grand reveals didn’t stop there, however, as Geno also announced that Tuck would be joining Breanna Stewart and Moriah Jefferson on the Huskies Wall of Honor.
When Tuck was asked to come to the podium, she had Stewart and Jefferson join her. The trio spoke about their experience at UConn and thanked the fans for their support.
The ceremony officially ended shortly after. However, it was not over for the hardcore Husky fans. As the seniors conducted interviews with the media journalists, former, current, and future Huskies began to make their way down to the court in hopes of getting pictures with the players or the legendary coach.
Morgan Tuck being interviewed
As the seniors finished their interviews, the crowd screamed their names, hoping that they would come to sign autographs and take pictures.
And to everyone’s excitement, they did. Even Coach Auriemma went around to take selfies with ecstatic fans.
Despite having every reason to be complacent, the women fought for every game as if it could have been their last and remained humble even with the seemingly endless list of accolades they received this season.
Fans will be sad to see these seniors go, but the team will continue to do great things. Next year’s team will make UConn Husky fans just as proud the team did this year.
Congratulations to the UConn Women’s Basketball Team on 11 National Championships!
All photos courtesy of Amanda Cabral