No. 7 UConn women's basketball ended No. 4 South Carolina's 71-game home win streak with a dominant 87-58 win on Sunday. Freshman forward Sarah Strong was a significant contributer to the 29-point win, recording a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Strong and Huskies coach Geno Auriemma spoke to the press postgame. In video clips shared by UConn women's basketball on Instagram on Monday, the two can be seen giggling. At one moment, Auriemma whispers something indecipherable to the young star after adjusting her microphone.
"We love Coach and Sarah in postgame press conferences," the IG caption read.
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Throughout the press conference, Strong keeps her answers short and sweet, and her seemingly introspective nature earns chuckles from her coach. The freshman forward, who shot 60% from the field and 50% from 3-point territory in the win over the Gamecocks, was asked about the atmosphere of the high-pressure game.
"It was a great atmosphere," Strong said. "Most people were against us, but we played against that and just stayed together."
The Huskies definitely did stick together. They outscored the Gamecocks in all four quarters, and four players recorded double-digit points.
Senior guard Azzi Fudd led the team with 28 points, followed by Strong's 16 points. Paige Bueckers put up 12 points and Kaitlyn Chen added 10. Strong led the team in rebounds and field goal percentage.
"Our focus was on being as aggressive as them and boxing out and just playing every possession," Strong said.
Sarah Strong's freshman season at UConn
Strong has already had a significant impact in her short stint with the Huskies. The No. 1 recruit from the 2024 class was valued due to a "combination of strength and skill," according to ESPN. The 6-foot-2 forward signed with UConn in March of last year.
"We've been very close with Sarah for a long time, and we've seen her grow and develop into as good a player out of high school as we've seen in quite some time," Auriemma said.
"The skill set that she has is both brand new and fits today's game perfectly, and it's also a throwback to an age when it didn't matter what size players were, they played the entire game. They passed, they shot, they handled the ball, they rebounded. I think we're getting a pretty special player and a special person."
Strong has started in all 27 of the Huskies' games this season and averages 28.3 minutes of playing time. She averages 16.1 points, eight rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, as well as an admirable 57.4% field-goal percentage. The freshman has put up 20-plus points on nine occassions this season and has six double-doubles.
The young forward is making her mark at UConn, including in Sunday's big win.
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