University of Connecticut pays tribute to Gianna Bryant by making her a custom jersey and saving her a spot on their player bench

The University of Connecticut's women basketball team paid tribute to 13-year-old Giana Maria Onore Bryant by making her a custom jersey and saving her a spot on their player seats at last night's game.

Gigi had dreams of playing for the squad when she graduated high school. She was a huge UConn fan who dreamed of playing for the Huskies one day. 

In March last year, Kobe Bryant took Gigi to a UConn home game. The father and daughter wore a UConn shirt at the game. During an in-game interview, Kobe told SNY television that he was thrilled that one of his daughters wanted to follow in his sneakers and take up the family basketball business.

After Kobe and Gigi died in a helicopter crash with seven other people, UConn paid tribute to them. Apart from making a Huskies jersey for Gigi and saving her a seat, a 24-second moment of silence was also held for Kobe and Gianna Bryant before the Uconn-Team USA game.