"You really can't really stop her": Dawn Staley gives her opinion on Sarah Strong after UConn star shines in South Carolina's blowout loss

The South Carolina Gamecocks, coached by Dawn Staley, suffered their third loss of the 2024-25 season on Sunday. As reigning national champions and the No.4-ranked team in the nation, Staley and Co. were handed a tough 87-58 defeat by the No. 7-ranked UConn Huskies on their home floor.

A disappointing defeat for the Gamecocks faithful, the loss marks their first loss in the 2025 SEC season, and their second overall. One of the key factors that led to their defeat was freshman standout Sarah Strong, who imposed her will inside against the South Carolina frontcourt defense.

During the postgame press conference, Staley shared her thoughts on Strong, particularly the facets of the game that the first-year stalwart makes a huge impact on.

"Sarah's good, Sarah's good, Sarah's good. I mean, we wanted her," Staley said. "She's a difference-maker, she can do a lot of things with the basketball, super smart. I think she is just high intelligence that will put her in a position where you really can't really stop her 'cause she can pass it, she can shoot it, she's a great reader, she rebounds the basketball, she plays smart." [5:45]

With praise coming from the 54-year-old accomplished tactician, it just goes to show how highly-touted Strong was coming out of high school and how she still is now in her first year of college hoops. Strong finished with 16 points on an efficient 6-for-10 clip, 13 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in 31 minutes logged.

On the 2024-2025 season, Strong is averaging 16.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.3 swipes and 1.4 swats per contest. The 6-2 forward is a favorite for many nods this year, such as the Cheryl Miller Award and the NCAA Freshman Award.

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South Carolina Gamecocks' biggest loss of the season snaps their 71-home game winning streak

The uncharacteristic 29-point drubbing that the South Carolina Gamecocks received on Sunday was their biggest margin for a loss in the campaign. But, what's even more disheartening for them is the fact that their 71-game winning streak at home, which was the fourth longest in women's college basketball history, was snapped.

Moving past this, Dawn Staley and the rest of the Gamecocks' goal remains the same, which is to repeat as national champions.