Caitlin Clark’s Failure Resurfaces After Paige Bueckers Achieves What Iowa Legend Failed To

UConn’s championship win was a mic drop. Paige Bueckers walked off the NCAA stage with the ultimate prize in hand.

And in doing so, she didn’t just cement her own legacy—she reopened a wound in the Caitlin Clark fanbase that still hasn’t quite healed. While the Iowa Hawkeyes legend shattered every scoring record in sight, the one thing she couldn’t get? That elusive national championship.

Paige Bueckers Wins It All and Steals the Spotlight

UConn Huskies star Paige Bueckers had a fairytale ending in Storrs. With her WNBA jump now official, the title run serves as the perfect launchpad into the pros. Behind her 17-point performance in the national title game and a tournament total of 149 points (an average of 24.8 per game), she helped UConn blast through the competition, including top-seeded South Carolina in the final, where the Huskies ran riot in an 82–59 beatdown.

No buzzer beaters. No miracle plays. Just pure dominance.

And while it wasn’t her wild 40-point Sweet 16 explosion or her 31-point takedown of USC in the Elite Eight, Bueckers led with poise, fire, and that stone-cold killer instinct. With the confetti falling and Geno Auriemma by her side, it was the kind of championship story UConn fans have seen before—but this one hit different.

Not just because it was title No. 12 for the Huskies, but because it low-key flexed on the entire 2020 recruiting class.

Four of the top five recruits from the 2020 women's basketball recruiting class have now won national titles.

Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, Kamilla Cardoso.

The last one is Caitlin Clark. pic.twitter.com/qQQVvfADTT

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 6, 2025

Four of the top five players from that class now have titles: Bueckers, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, and Kamilla Cardoso. The only one without one? Iowa’s Caitlin Clark.

The Clark Conundrum: Record-Breaker Without the Ring

Let’s be clear, Caitlin Clark’s legacy is untouched when it comes to scoring. She owns that stat sheet. From breaking Kelsey Plum’s all-time scoring record to torching March Madness with 491 career points, her numbers are in a league of their own.

But the one thing she never snagged was the national championship. Despite leading Iowa to the final twice, Clark and the Hawkeyes couldn’t close the deal. Especially in April 2024, when South Carolina shut the door on them.

Now, with Paige Bueckers not just winning it all but doing so in dominant fashion, the comparison is louder than ever. Clark might be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft, but so might Bueckers. And if the stars align, we’re staring at a WNBA rivalry that could headline the league for years.

This wasn’t just a title for UConn. It was a message—Bueckers finished the job. And like it or not, it brought Clark’s unfinished business right back into the spotlight.