sarah strong: Sarah Strong already at Paige Bueckers, Maya Moore's level at UConn with impressive freshman achievement

Sarah Strong already at Paige Bueckers, Maya Moore's level at UConn with impressive freshman achievement

NCAA Womens Basketball: Final Four National Semifinal-Connecticut at UCLA - Source: Imagn — Sarah Strong tied a couple of records on Friday.- Source: Imagn

Sarah Strong had a historic performance in the UConn Huskies' 85-51 victory over the top-ranked UCLA Bruins in the National Semifinal on Friday night. Strong finished the game with 22 points, eight rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block.

However, it was her 22 points that put Strong in elite company, tying her with Paige Bueckers and Maya Moore as the only UConn players with 15 20-point games as a freshman. The guard could set a new school record for a freshman if she breaks the 20-point mark on Sunday against the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Moore set the record in the 2007-08 season, while Bueckers matched it in 2020-21. However, neither player was able to win the championship in their freshman year. Moore's Huskies lost to the Stanford Cardinal in the Semifinals, while the 2021 squad was upset by the Arizona Wildcats, also in the semis.

That was not the only freshman milestone Sarah Strong hit against the Bruins. The Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, native also became the third UConn freshman to score at least 20 points in a Final Four game, matching what Maya Moore and Brenna Stewart did in their first season of college basketball.

The WBCA Freshman of the Year averages 16.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, and she has turned on her scoring in the Tournament, averaging 18 points per game and surpassing the 20-point mark three times in five games.

Sarah Strong and UConn will look for their 12th national championship on Sunday when they face the South Carolina Gamecocks in the title game. It will be the second title game between the schools, as the Gamecocks defeated Geno Auriemma’s team in the 2022 championship game.

Sarah Strong’s UConn teammates also had a record night

The Huskies’ demolition of UCLA set a Final Four record with a 34-point margin of victory. In fact, no team had lost a Final Four game by 30 points previously.

Geno Auriemma’s squad never trailed and the last time they were tied in the game was at 4-4, with more than eight minutes left in the first quarter. The Huskies took a 20-point lead at the half.

UConn also generated 19 turnovers, led by Jana El Alfy’s four steals. Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers added three steals each. The 51 points scored were a season-low for the Bruins, who made the first Final Four appearance in program history.

The title game will be held on Sunday at 3 pm ET at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

About the author

Allan Wolburg Robles is a College Sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over 17 years of experience in the field writing for publications including Reforma, Yahoo! OddsShark and Apuesta. Allan studied Communications at Anáhuac University, where he learned what would become the basis of a trade that was already a dream of his before starting college.

His favorite team is Army West Point as when he was young, Allan lived in West Point for a couple of years, went to pretty much every home game, a couple of Army-Navy games and even got to meet some of the players.

Allan's favorite players of all time include Tommie Frazier, who was unbelievable during the Nebraska dynasty of the early 90's. Tim Tebow was also a favorite, mainly because of his leadership skills, although he was also awesome on the football field. As a fan of defensive football, (or what's left of it), Sean Taylor could take over a game for Miami.

Allan has always considered himself a student of the game more than a fan of it. So the historical part and evolution of the game, as well as the ins and outs of what happens on the field, and being able to put it into words for the audience, are his biggest strengths.

Besides sports, Allan enjoys reading books, watching movies and spending time with his dogs.

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Edited by Nadim El Kak