Jordan Hawkins of UConn made the NCAA finals a family affair on Monday night, winning a title a day after his cousin Angel Reese led LSU to the women’s victory.

And he had a message for those who chastised Reese for waving her hand in front of her face while looking down Iowa star Caitlin Clark, then pointing to her finger as if it held a championship ring while going towards the Iowa star.

“We’re national champions. They’re not,” he said. “So, at the end of the day, they can say whatever they want.”

Reese, who was named Most Outstanding Player, was unrepentant about her conduct when social media exploded with reactions to her trash talk in the final minutes of LSU’s 102-85 win Sunday.

“All year, I was critiqued about who I was,” Reese said Sunday. “I don’t fit in a box that y’all want me to be in. I’m too hood. I’m too ghetto. But when other people do it, y’all say nothing. So this was for the girls that look like me, that’s going to speak up on what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you.”

Hawkins praised his cousin after scoring 16 points to help UConn win its sixth national championship, 76-59 over San Diego State.

“I’m so proud of her,” he said. “She works so hard.”

Then he was asked who would win a one-on-one friendly family game between the two national champs.

“Probably me, now. I would probably win,” he said. “But there was a time I would probably lose to her.”

Main Image: Angel Reese and Jordan Hawkins| Twitter