TAMPA, Fla. — It’s not every day you get to meet your hero.
11-year-old Harper LaMarre loves basketball.
"I've known how to shoot a basketball since maybe I was four?" she said.
The Tampa Prep student bleeds for the UConn Women's Basketball team.
Her favorite player? Without a doubt, Paige Bueckers.
"She's just a great player and just a great role model for young athletes, and then off the court, she's just such a good person, and she brings laughter to everybody,” said LaMarre.
When UConn punched their ticket to the Women's Final Four in Tampa, one thing was on this superfan's mind.
"I need tickets because I need to go watch Paige play,” LaMarre said.
On Tuesday, when UConn landed in Tampa, LaMarre was there.
"They told us no pictures, no autographs, nothing, but if they come up to you, you could,” she said. “So they were coming off the plane. I just see Paige come down, and I just start crying so much because I love her so much."
Then the unthinkable happened.
"I screamed hi Paige, and then she said hi back, and then I just started bawling even more, and then she came over because she saw me crying, and she asked if I wanted a picture, so then I got a picture, and it was such a good moment for me,” said LaMarre.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the video that captured the moment truly speaks for itself. The video went viral on social media as LaMarre melted while meeting her hero.
"It's just a blackout moment,” she said. “Like my mom said, in Inside Out 2, it's like a core memory."
LaMarre hopes to get tickets to see the game between UConn and UCLA on Friday, but regardless, she'll be watching.
After the video went viral, LaMarre became somewhat of a celebrity herself.
"Like every second, people are showing me the video, showing me pictures,” said LaMarre. “Like everybody in my grade knows about it.”
And just maybe in a few years, people will see her on the court in the Final Four, too.
“Do you hope to be a player like her?” asked ABC Action News reporter Mary O’Connell.
“Yes,” answered LaMarre.
“If they're saying Harper LaMarre instead of Paige Bueckers?” O’Connell asked.
“Yes,” LaMarre said while laughing.
“Do you think that could happen?” O’Connell asked.
“If I keep on putting the work in, yes,” said LaMarre.
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