Geno Auriemma akins 18 year old UConn rookie to WNBA legend Breanna Stewart after dominant Louisville display

UConn coach Geno Auriemma did not mince words following his team’s dominant 85-52 win over No. 22 Louisville on Saturday night. Auriemma was quick to compare freshman phenom Sarah Strong to one of the all-time greats of the women's game, Breanna Stewart.

Strong put up her third 20-point game of the season, scoring 21 points and grabbing eight rebounds in the victory as the No. 2 Huskies improved to 8-0 on the campaign.

Emily Adams of the Hartford Courant reported that Geno Auriemma had high praise for Sarah Strong after the game.

"I don't know that anyone has had the offensive skillset Sarah has since Stewie was here," the coach said.

Sarah Strong's game-high 21 points came on 8-of-10 shooting, 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and 2-of-4 from the free throw line. On defense, she stayed calm and made sure to block out her opponent. She had one block and one steal in the game.

Besides, Strong has been a revelation for the Huskies this season, leading the team in scoring with 16.2 points per game, second only to senior guard Paige Bueckers.

Geno Auriemma has already once compared Sarah Strong to UConn legend Stewart

Geno Auriemma sees a lot of similarities between Sarah Strong and Breanna Stewart, who led the Huskies to four consecutive national championships.

After the win against Holy Cross on Tuesday, where Strong put up her season-best 22 points and seven rebounds, the UConn coach heaped more praise on the Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, native.

"I am a big Sarah Strong fan," Auriemma said. "She's poised. There's a reason why everybody in America wanted her. I remember [Breanna Stewart] had a November and a kind of mid-December blowout where she was just best player in the country until she wasn't, because things happen when you're a freshman. Sarah has a really good outlook on the game.

"She seems to know what we need at what moment, and you can see it. And when she gets comfortable, she thinks that any shot she takes is going in."

Strong has now outscored Bueckers in three of the Huskies’ eight games this season, a remarkable feat for a first-year player. The 18-year-old forward is not only an adept scorer but also an excellent rebounder and playmaker, averaging 7.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.

Geno Auriemma and No. 2 UConn Huskies will take on their rival, the No. 10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, at Purcell Pavilion on Thursday.