Sarah Strong humbly reacts to making NCAA history and surpassing her mother's teammate from WNBA days

UConn Huskies forward Sarah Strong just capped off her dream first season of college basketball with a coveted national championship. Earlier on Sunday, April 6, she was the X-factor in propelling her team towards an 82-59 win over the defending national champions, South Carolina Gamecocks, in the title game of this year's national tournament.

The freshman top-scored with a double-double in her first taste of the grandest stage in women's college basketball with 24 markers on a highly-efficient 10-of-15 overall clip and a game-high 15 rebounds, to go along with five assists, two steals, and three blocks in 37 minutes of action.

To add to her stellar performance, Strong broke the record set by WNBA legend Tamika Catchings for the most points scored in a March Madness run by a first-year player. In the post-game presser, the 19-year-old was asked about this accomplishment since her mother, Allison Feaster, played with Catchings before.

"I feel like I did better than I was expecting. But, yeah, I mean it's cool to score that, that wouldn't have happened without my teammates though," she quickly said. (8:45)

Catchings set the record for most points scored by a freshman in a national tournament run in the 1997-1998 season. Strong has surpassed her record with the 114 points she scored throughout the 2025 March Madness run.

Sarah Strong's mother, Feaster, who is currently the VP of Team Operations and Organizational Growth for the Boston Celtics, played alongside Catchings during ther 2008-2009 WNBA season with the Indiana Fever. Despite this connection, it seems as though the standout stalwart is still remaining humble with the success she is garnering with her response in the presser.

Along with helping the Geno Auriemma-coached program to their first national title in nine years, she was also a huge help during the Huskies' 11th straight Big East conference regular-season championship and conference tournament title run.

Sarah Strong won her first natty exactly one year after she committed to the UConn Huskies

Coming out of high school in the 2023-2024 year, Sarah Strong was highly touted as one of the top prospects from her class. She then committed to the UConn Huskies on April 6, 2024, after reportedly years of her being recruited to the storied program.

Since then, she's bedazzled the college basketball scene as arguably the best rookie from the 2024-2025 campaign with averages of 16.2 points, 8.7 boards, 3.5 dimes, 2.3 swipes, and 1.6 swats per contest.

Exactly a year after Sarah Strong committed to her current college, they won the national championship together and will now look to go for a repeat in the 2025-2026 season.