When Nina Westbrook played for UCLA women’s basketball, her team never made it past the second round of the NCAA tournament.

But on Sunday, the former UCLA basketball player had the chance to watch her former team take it all the way.

“Our program has transformed over the past 15 years,” Westbrook said. “Building a program around overall emotional wellness and supporting the players through that – we are seeing the results of all of that.”

Westbrook and thousands of other Bruin fans attended a celebration Wednesday evening in Pauley Pavilion of UCLA women’s basketball’s first NCAA championship. The Bruins defeated the University of South Carolina on Sunday in Phoenix 79-51.

[Related: Finally champions: Women’s basketball dominates in program-first NCAA title win]

The event, which began at 6 p.m., gave Bruins fans the chance to take photos with the Bruins’ Big Ten and NCAA trophies and sign a NCAA tournament bracket. The crowd opened the ceremony with an 8-clap for women’s basketball and gave a standing ovation when alumnus Denise Curry – a member of the 1978 AIAW championship team, before women’s basketball joined the NCAA – spoke at the event.

[Related: UCLA women’s basketball fans celebrate first NCAA title in Phoenix]

Karen and Conrad Maag watched UCLA women’s basketball take home its first NCAA title Sunday from their Orange County home. The alumni had the chance to return to their alma mater to celebrate the win.

“They had the energy,” Karen Maag said. “The planets – everything was aligned.”

Westbrook said her favorite moment of the celebration was watching seniors Lauren Betts, Gabriela Jaquez and graduate student Charlisse Leger-Walker dance to Tate McRae’s “Just Keep Watching” as blue and yellow confetti fell.

Conrad Maag said he enjoyed watching the team dominate the championship game, and Karen Maag added that she reunited with friends at the celebration.

Kelly Laurean Zapien, a graduate student in social work, said she attended the event to support the team, adding that its success was meaningful for the promotion of women’s sports at a top school like UCLA. Seeing the team’s hard work culminate at Pauley Pavilion was the highlight of the celebration, she added.

“They’ve been dominating the whole season,” Laurean Zapien said. “It was a no-brainer that they were going to finish what they started.”

Alyssa Iida, a second-year molecular, cell and developmental biology student, said she has been a fan of the women’s basketball team for the past three seasons. Iida, who is from Torrance, California, added that she and her parents have bonded over watching its games.

“I don’t think any team wanted it as bad as them,” she said.

A line to take photos with the championship trophies wrapped around the north entrance of Pauley Pavilion as attendees left the event at 7 p.m. Fans signed the bracket poster with encouraging messages, including “WAY TO FINISH THE JOB” and “LA is UCLA’s.”

Westbrook said seeing the women’s basketball program build well-rounded players who compete at the highest level has made her proud.

“We want to be able to celebrate the fruits of the entire team and coaching staff’s labor,” she said. “It takes a village, like coach Cori said, and we have to continue to support our players, especially when you have a program who’s doing it the right way.”