Women's Fastbreak On SI

Sarah Strong Has Stat Line of the Century in Dominant UConn NCAA Tournament Win

UConn Huskies freshman Sarah Strong balled out in her first NCAA Tournament game.

Grant Young

Mar 22, 2025; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies forward Sarah Strong (21) drives the ball against Arkansas State Red Wolves guard Wynter Rogers (2) in the first half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Mar 22, 2025; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies forward Sarah Strong (21) drives the ball against Arkansas State Red Wolves guard Wynter Rogers (2) in the first half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

As was expected, the No. 2 seed UConn Huskies women's basketball team dominated in their first-round matchup of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, decimating the No. 15-seeded Arkansas State Red Wolves by a score of 103-34.

As is usually the case in the early rounds of the women's NCAA Tournament, the country's top teams have had zero issues handling the lowest-ranked teams to make it into the big dance. But what's perhaps most impressive about UConn's game on Saturday is the scoring they saw from several different players.

Star guard Paige Bueckers only had to score 11 points and take 9 shots in the game because her fellow guards Azzi Fudd (who score 27 points including 6 made threes) and Ashlynn Shade (who scored 20 points off of the bench) did a lot of the offensive work.

However, the most impressive statline came from star freshman Sarah Strong, who scored 20 points while adding 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 blocks.

As a result, Strong became the only player in the last 25 years to have 20 points, 10+ rebounds, and five or more assists and blocks in the NCAA Tournament, according to an X post from SNY.

This historic performance for the 19-year-old bodes extremely well for UConn's chances of winning a national championship this season, as they'll need Strong to play like one of the country's post players if they want to capture their first NCAA championship since 2016.

The Huskies' next test will come on Monday when they face the winner of the Oklahoma St. vs. South Dakota St. game later today.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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