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Washington | Culture

Thank You, Women’s March Madness

Abby Heinicke Student Contributor, University of Washington - Seattle
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Washington chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

The women’s 2025 NCAA March Madness basketball tournament was missing a crucial player that made last year a year for the record books. Caitlin Clark. Caitlin Clark brought nearly 19 million viewers to the 2024 March Madness championship game – deemed “The Caitlin Clark Effect” – only to lose in the championship game for the second year in a row. 

Why isn’t the media giving the same attention to a women’s player this year? The 2025 University of Connecticut versus South Carolina championship matchup brought less than half the viewers that Caitlin Clark’s championship game did. 

This year’s March Madness teams have plenty of big names. Paige Bueckers. Hannah Hidalgo. Haley van Lith. Flau’jae Johnson. Lauren Betts. Juju Watkins! The list goes on. 

So why do none of them reach the same level as Caitlin Clark?

In my opinion – there’s too many outstanding players to focus on. But, it seems the viewership Clark garnered simply followed her to the WNBA instead of finding a new NCAA hot-shot to focus on (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing). 

Juju Watkins would be most people’s pick for the most sensational player from the 2025 March Madness run. Being the number one recruit from the class of 2023, Watkins did not disappoint in her first season at the University of Southern California, averaging 27.1 points per game. USC came into the tournament as the number one seed for Region Four, and Watkins was expected to propel the team far into the madness of March…until she tore her ACL in the first quarter of USC’s second round game against Mississippi State – a truly heartbreaking moment for women’s basketball fans worldwide. USC went on to lose to UConn in the Elite Eight. USC’s success in the tournament would’ve looked quite different with Watkins healthy and hooping.

The University of Connecticut Huskies went on to win March Madness quite dominantly. UConn beat UCLA by 30+ points in the Final Four, and reigning champion South Carolina by 23 points. Neither game was close. UConn has multiple players that led the Huskies to their first championship since 2016. Sarah Strong, the phenom freshman forward who consistently scored in and out of the key for the Huskies. Azzi Fudd, a senior guard who has come back consistently from injuries and continues to deliver on the court. Kaitlyn Chen, a senior transfer from Princeton who can finish at the basket no matter the scenario. 

Then, arguably the biggest name for UConn – Paige Bueckers, the senior guard from Minnesota who was the number one recruit out of the 2020 high school class. Bueckers is a true triple threat, delivering highlight-reel-worthy assists, drives, and consistent jumpers off of pick and rolls. She is unstoppable. I had the honor of watching her drop 40, yes, 40 points in UConn’s Sweet 16 matchup versus Oklahoma in Spokane. Nike recently released merch alongside Bueckers, the shirt displaying “Buckets” instead of Bueckers. Fitting. 

Watching Bueckers play was an unreal experience. I’ve followed her and her basketball journey since 2018, immediately falling in love with her playing style and attitude on and off the court. After I “discovered” Bueckers, she quickly gained traction within sports media, highlight-reels and fan accounts popping up all over social media. Fans travelled from all over the midwest to see her play. And Bueckers was just a high schooler. It’s safe to say she didn’t peak in high school – after she committed to the legacy program in Connecticut to play under Geno Auriemma, Bueckers’ name became even more widely known. Flash forward to 2025 March Madness – Bueckers had faced hardship through injury, missing most of the 2022 season and all of the 2023 season, and finally was back with a taste for vengeance after losing in the Final Four in 2024. Now she is a national champion. And the cherry on top? This week she went out as the #1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. LFG. 

Flashback to watching her play in person – her jumpshot was flawless and her presence on the court was undeniably strong. A player seasoned with intense game experiences, Bueckers was the definition of a March Madness player this year. As focused as I was by Bueckers’ presence on the court in front of me, I couldn’t help but notice all the other girls around me who were similarly trained on Bueckers. I saw ponytails with two dutch braids swooped into them, Paige “Buckets” t-shirts, “EVERYONE WATCHES WOMEN’S SPORTS” t-shirts, posters held by the arms of girls longing for Bueckers to see them, notice them, and acknowledge their presence in the same arena as her. 

The Paige Bueckers Effect is real. And it has captured the hearts of young girls all over the country – me included. 

This year’s NCAA March Madness Tournament run may not seem to be as historic as last year’s; but, it solidified the positivity female athletes are instilling in the souls of young women everywhere. Like Nike’s recent powerful advertising campaign – “You can’t win. So win.” Paige Bueckers – injured for two years, playing in Caitlin Clark’s March Madness shadow, comes back to win a natty. Juju Watkins – outstanding start to her collegiate career, only to get injured, but her story isn’t over yet. 

Athletes that have been torn down by injury, insult by the media, and strict scrutiny on their every move still win. Thank you, Women’s March Madness, for teaching us what it means to overcome and win. 

Abby Heinicke

Washington '26

Abby Heinicke is a second-year writer and an Associate Editor at the Her Campus at University of Washington chapter. She enjoys writing about fashion, thrifting, food, and sustainability. Outside of Her Campus, Abby is working as a Program Assistant for the Intramurals Program at the University of Washington. In high school, she was the Editor-in-Chief for the online publication The OLu Muse. While writing for the Muse, she wrote about many topics, some of which included the environment, conservation, and high school stress. She is currently a second-year student at the University of Washington majoring in Journalism and Public Interest and minoring in Earth and Space Studies. In her free time, Abby enjoys playing basketball, thrifting, trying out new coffee shops, and going to the beach when she is home in Orange, California. She loves rewatching 10 Things I Hate About You, and binging TV shows, Breaking Bad as of late. She also has four cats at home - Peggy, Natasha, Thor, and Bucky - all named after Marvel characters!