After 'Storybook' Finale, What's Next for Women's Game?

"Truly storybook" is how former player and current TV analyst Rebecca Lobo describes the women's NCAA championship win of Paige Bueckers and UConn on Sunday. The Huskies defeated South Carolina 82-59 thanks in large part to Bueckers, whose career at UConn had been beset by injuries and heartbreak in the Final Four—until Sunday. Lobo and others talk to ESPN about the significance of the win for both the senior star and the storied team, which ended a nine-year championship drought. The AP, meanwhile, assesses the state of women's college basketball, which has been on the rise these last few years, riding the wave of iconic players like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Bueckers, and JuJu Watkins.

Now, with Clark and Reese in the WNBA, Bueckers headed to the league, and Watkins sidelined for the foreseeable future with an ACL injury, it raises the question of who will pick up the torch and continue that momentum. There may be no clear candidate to become the face of the game, though there's no shortage of talented players, including UCLA's Lauren Betts, UConn freshman Sarah Strong, and South Carolina freshman Joyce Edwards. And there are more looming on the horizon, like high school sensation Aaliyah Chavez, who will be making her collegiate debut at Oklahoma next season.

The ratings for the women's NCAA Tournament leading into the title game Sunday didn't match last year's record numbers, though they were better than nearly every other year in NCAA history. "It's a great sign that without Caitlin we're still certainly on the ascent," says Lobo. "Hopefully, that's the same even without the star power next year of Paige Bueckers and JuJu. The game is at a place where it can still grow."

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Women's basketball, like other college sports, has changed the last few years with the transfer portal. There are over 1,200 players currently in the portal, a person with access to it shared with the AP. Where some of those impact players—Olivia Miles, Cotie McMahon, and Ta'Niya Latson—end up could not only shape which teams rise up to challenge UConn and South Carolina next season, but also which player separates herself from the rest.

• On the men's side, Houston and Florida play Monday night in the championship game, and ESPN has a preview.

(More UConn Huskies stories.)