New York Liberty Players Who Impacted March Madness

On Sunday, Paige Bueckers and the 2025 UConn women’s basketball team were crowned NCAA Tournament champions.

Believe it or not, much of the New York Liberty roster has been there themselves. Some stories are more successful than others, but the Liberty has carried their alma maters through thick and thin and proved themselves worthy of a spot in the WNBA.

Breanna Stewart‘s Home with the Huskies

Stewie is notoriously known for being a star player on the Huskies from 2012 to 2016. In just her freshman year, she was the second leading scorer on the team (13.8 points per game) and was named the first freshman to be named the MVP of the Paradise Jam. In her first-ever NCAA tournament, the Huskies took the title. She would not score less than 14 points per game the whole postseason.

Moving to sophomore year, Stewart started every game and led the team with 19.4 points per game. UConn won the March Madness game again this season, with Stewie averaging 18 points per game and shooting 48.8% from the field.

In her junior season, Stewie averaged 17.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.6 steals and 2.7 blocks per game. She grabbed 303 rebounds, marking the fourth-highest number in UConn history for a junior. In March Madness, Stewart led her team to the finals again, beating Notre Dame. She averaged 18.1 points per game in the postseason.

In Stewart’s final season as a Husky, she averaged 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 3.4 blocks per game in the regular season. In her final NCAA tournament, she led UConn to its fourth straight championship win, averaging 20.3 points and 10 rebounds in just this tournament.

Jaylyn Sherrod Cooking for Colorado

Jaylyn Sherrod played for the Buffaloes from 2019 to 2024. In her freshman season, she was the second leading scorer (9.9 points per game). The NCAA Tournament was not held this season due to COVID-19.

Sherrod did not make an appearance in March Madness until her junior season, when Creighton defeated Colorado in the first round. During the regular season, Sherrod was third in the conference in steals (55) and started in all 31 games.

The NCAA tournament drought for the Buffaloes was well worth the wait when Sherrod’s performance against Duke got Colorado to the Sweet Sixteen. Jaylyn scored the last four points in regulation, sending the Buffaloes into overtime against the Devils. This led to an eight-point win for Colorado.

In her graduate season, she started all 34 games, becoming CU’s all-time leader in games started (133). She also scored a career-high 34 points against Utah. In March Madness, Sherrod helped her team get to the Elite Eight, but fell to Iowa 89-68, ending her career with the Buffaloes.

Sabrina Running Oregon’s Offense

Sabrina Ionescu began her career with the Ducks in 2016 and played there until she became the No. 1 pick in the 2020 WNBA draft.

In her freshman season, Sabrina won ESPNW Freshman of the Year, as well as USWBA Freshman of the Year and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Despite being a No. 10 seed, the Ducks made it to the Elite Eight this season. Ionescu averaged 16.3 points and 5.8 assists per game in the NCAA Tournament, while shooting 45% behind the arc.

In her sophomore season, Sab led the conference, averaging 19.7 points per game. She recorded her 10^th triple-double in the first round of NCAA tournament play and helped Oregon make it to the Elite Eight once again.

Sabrina averaged 19.9 points per contest in the regular season and started all 38 games. She led Oregon to its first-ever Final Four appearance and scored the most points by an Oregon player in the NCAA tournament with 31 against Mississippi State in the Elite Eight.

As a senior, she became the second player in history to win AP National Player of the Year unanimously, joining Liberty teammate Breanna Stewart. Sab would have clinched a spot in March Madness if it hadn’t been canceled due to COVID-19.

The Bruins Claim Kennedy Burke

Kennedy Burke played for UCLA from 2015 to 2019. As a freshman, she made an appearance in all 35 games and scored in 32 of them. She had 15 points and five rebounds against Hawai’i in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Although the Bruins didn’t make it past the second round this season, Burke was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team by the coaches.

As a sophomore, Kennedy led her team in scoring five times and rebounding four times. Her season high was 23 points. In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Burke got the first double-double of her career. In the second-round win, she registered nine points, a career-high nine assists, five rebounds, two blocks, and one steal. UCLA fell to UConn in the Sweet Sixteen.

When junior season rolled around, Kennedy was named to two different preseason watch lists and was named Honorable Mention Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. The Bruins fell to Mississippi in the Elite Eight.

In her senior year, she led the team with 2.1 steals per game and shot almost 50% from the field. In the NCAA Tournament, Burke scored 19 points and 11 rebounds when taking down Maryland in the second round. UConn defeated UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen.