Following Friday night’s historic women’s NCAA Tournament national semifinal win, UConn added to a banner weekend for the program when two former stars were selected to the Naismith Pro Basketball Hall of Fame.
Hall of Fame inductees announcement adds to banner UConn weekend

Sue Bird. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

On Saturday , former Huskies greats, guard Sue Bird and forward Maya Moore, were announced as 2025 inductees.

They join fellow WNBA legend Sylvia Fowles, Bulls head coach and two-time NCAA champion Billy Donovan, forward Carmelo Anthony, center Dwight Howard, Miami Heat general partner Micky Arison and NBA referee Danny Crawford as members of this year’s enshrinement class.

Less than 24 hours earlier, Regional 4 – Spokane No. 2 UConn (36-3) advanced to its 13th women’s NCAA Tournament national championship game with a record-breaking 85-51 win over Regional 1- Spokane No. 1 UCLA (34-3).

Per ESPN, the 34-point margin of victory was the largest in Final Four history.

On Sunday, it plays Regional 2 – Birmingham No. 1 South Carolina (35-3) in the national title game.

With a win, star forward Paige Bueckers and the entire 2024-25 squad can etch their names UConn basketball lore, joining their 2025 Hall of Fame predecessors.

Bird played for UConn from 1998-2002, winning two national titles (2000, 2002) and being named 2001-02 Associated Press Player of the Year. During her senior season, the Huskies went a perfect 39-0, one of six teams in women’s college basketball history to finish a season 39-0 or better.

Fresh Air Weekend: WNBA star Sue Bird; Sleater-Kinney | WAMU

Moore, who played at UConn from 2007-11, was on two other teams to accomplish the feat, going 78-0 and winning back-to-back national titles in 2009 and 2010. She was named AP Player of the Year twice (2009, 2011) and was a four-time first-team AP All-America selection.

Bueckers has several accolades to her name as well. She was named AP Player of the Year as a freshman in 2021 and is a three-time first-team All-America selection (2021, 2024-25). The only thing her resume is missing is a national championship.

Considering how this weekend has gone thus far for UConn, that might change on Sunday.

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