Gianna Bryant Memorialized By University She Dreamed Of Attending

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — Gianna Maria Onore Bryant, 13, daughter of Kobe and Vanessa Bryant, was an avid basketball player and student of the game. She made it known that she had dreams of playing basketball at University of Connecticut before moving on to the WNBA.

That life plan was cut short when she died Sunday in a helicopter that went down in the Calabasas hills on the way to a basketball tournament. Eight others, including her father and two teammates, also died in the crash.

While the world stopped to mourn, UConn coaches and players wanted to do their part to honor her memory. A game against the USA team, where five UConn alumnae now play, seemed the perfect opportunity.

The Bryant family was not a stranger to UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma. According to the coach, Gianna considered UConn her "dream college."

She and her father visited the school, watched a game and "stuck around campus," according to Auriemma.

"When she came up here on campus, if she could have stayed, I think she would have stayed," he told ESPN in an interview. "You could see the look in her eyes. She was so excited" and aspired to be a UConn Huskie.

She had what it took to take her game all the way, if she so chose, according to Auriemma.

Gianna shared her father's gift of game and earned the nickname "Mambacita" on the court. She was often found at her father's Mamba Sports Academy, and she was a member of the Mamba Academy middle school basketball team coached by her father. Kobe Bryant saw her as heir to the Bryant basketball legacy. Together, they watched film, broke down plays and worked on developing Kobe's famous three-point swish.

The UConn team honored Gianna's memory with a jersey bearing her name and number. They placed it over an empty chair, adorned with flowers, where it sat during play.

It was a solemn memorial for a little girl with enormous dreams.

Read: OC Mourns Teammates, Parents, Friends Lost In Helicopter Crash