Lakers News: Vanessa Bryant Shouts Out Gianna, UConn After National Title

The Uconn Huskies women's basketball team is once again at the top of the college basketball world. Legendary head coach Geno Auriemma helped lead the Huskies to their 12th national title in dominant fashion.

The Huskies may not have been the best team this past season, but they were when it mattered the most.

UConn is a legendary program that many worldwide are huge fans of, including Vanessa Bryant, the wife of the late great Kobe Bryant.

After the Huskies won the title on Sunday, Vanessa shared a post to congratulate the team and shouted out to her daughter, Gianna Bryant, during the process.

The Huskies defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks, 82-59.

If Gianna were still with us, she would most likely have taken her talents to UConn and become a star under Auriemma.

Arash Markazi of the Sporting Trubine shared a video of Kobe and Hall of Famer Reggie Miller trying to convince Kobe to tell Giannia to go to UCLA instead of UConn.

Gigi Bryant would have been a freshman on this UConn national championship team. I thought about Kobe Bryant when UConn played UCLA in the Final Four. Reggie Miller was hoping Gigi would stay closer to home and go to UCLA but Kobe said, "She is hellbent on going to UConn!" https://t.co/KGPL31MmuX
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) April 7, 2025

After the win over the Gamecocks, Auriemma was filled with emotion and spoke about what this title meant for himself, the team, and the program.

"There was a big part of my inner circle of people that I trust that were hoping that after the Stewie fourth in a row that I should have called it a day back then," Auriemma said. "That would have been apropos, I guess -- ride off into the sunset.

"But ... you make the decision you're not finished yet, and then three, four years go by, and people start telling you that UConn is not UConn anymore and it's somebody else's turn. And then five years go by, and six years go by, and seven years go by."

This was Auriemma's first title since 2016. He had almost gone a decade without a title, which was virtually unheard of in years past.

It would have been something special if we had witnessed Gianna on this team with the whole Bryant family supporting her in person.

Nonetheless, the Huskies got the job done and proved they are still a powerhouse in college basketball.

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