Paige Bueckers Gets UConn Teammate's Emotional 'Role Model' Endorsement

UConn Huskies standout Jana El Alfy delivered a tear-jerking message about her teammate Paige Bueckers after they won the NCAA national championship.

Apr 6, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; Connecticut Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) speaks to the media after the national championship of the women's 2025 NCAA tournament against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Last month, a heartwarming story of a special food-related ritual between UConn Huskies star Paige Bueckers and her Muslim teammate Jana El Alfy went viral on social media.

"Bueckers has chosen to support the native of Egypt through Ramadan this year by getting up before dawn most days and cooking breakfast for El Alfy before her daily fast," CT Insider's Maggie Vanoni wrote in a March 24 article.

It later adds, "The 6-foot-5 center said she tries to have a filling breakfast each morning in preparation for the day’s fast. Bueckers, being one of El Alfy’s roommates, often joins El Alfy in support for the early morning meal, which usually occurs before or around 5 a.m."

Bueckers is then quoted saying, "I'm her roommate, so just to be able to be there to support her, let her know we're here for her through everything, and we know what she's going through is tough to do -- to be able to do Ramadan, fast and play basketball at such a high level right now."

This display of leadership from Bueckers warmed a lot of hearts. And after the Huskies won the NCAA national championship against South Carolina on Sunday, El Alfy sent a powerful message about her teammate.

"Nobody deserves it more than Paige. She has been there for every single person from the moment they stepped on this campus," El Alfy said of winning the national title, per an X post from SNY. "I've never met a person that cares more. Unselfish. She has been my literal sister, she has been my mom, my dad, my family ever since I came here."

El Alfy, amid being overcome by tears, continued by saying, "She has been my role model. I'm gonna miss her so much, but I'm super proud of her and super lucky that I got to be her teammate."

Jana El Alfy gets emotional talking about Paige Bueckers, who she says she will miss so much at UConn:

"I've never met a person that cares more...she's been my literal sister, my mom, my dad, my family. She's been my role model." pic.twitter.com/kT5b3xF33k

— UConn on SNY (@SNYUConn) April 6, 2025

Bueckers will go down as a UConn Huskies legend, and not just because of what she accomplished on the basketball court.