Former Grace Christian Lady Crusader and top national basketball recruit Sarah Strong has had a showing worthy of her last name in her first NCAA Tournament as a freshman at UConn.
Strong dropped 22 points and 17 rebounds (her third double-double in four tournament games) in UConn’s impressive 78-64 win over No. 1 seed USC in the Elite Eight Monday to advance to the Final Four. She scored 10 of the Huskies’ first 12 points in the game, paving the way for senior Paige Bueckers — the expected No. 1 pick in this year’s WNBA Draft — to get going and eventually score 31.
Strong, who became the nation’s No. 1 basketball recruit in 2024 after three years at Grace Christian in Sanford, has scored 20, 15, 11 and 22 points respectively in her first four tournament games. She also grabbed 12 rebounds in the first round game against Arkansas State and 11 boards in the Sweet Sixteen rout over Oklahoma.
For the season, Strong has averaged over 16 points a game and 8.8 rebounds. She scored a career-high 29 points on Dec. 17 against Iowa State and dropped 26 points on Jan. 25 in a conference game against Creighton. Perhaps her best all-around game, stat-wise, came on March 9 with 20 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks in a rout of Villanova. Her performance Monday came close to that.
The Huskies have reached the Elite Eight 18 times in the past 19 seasons and the Final Four 16 times in that span under coach Geno Auriemma, but his squad is looking for its first national title since 2016. Strong led Grace Christian to three straight NCISAA state titles while at Grace Christian, leading the Lady Crusaders to a 91-4 record in those three years and a 41-game undefeated streak.
Heading into the Final Four, UConn (35-3) has won 14 straight games.
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Even better to get her team to the finals. Impressive frosh.
The obvious headline “Connecticut too Strong for UCLA”. Her 3s were crushing and led to a big lead.