You know that old saying?
There are three things guaranteed in life: death, taxes and a Sarah Strong jumper finding the bottom of the net.
It was especially apparent today. Strong tied her career-high in points (29), notched 13 rebounds and dished 7 assists in the top-ranked University of Connecticut women’s basketball team’s 100-68 win over Ohio State (2-1) on Sunday afternoon.
She also had five steals… and 12 made field goals… and a plus/minus of +41 — all of which led the team.
“It’s not as easy as she makes it look,” head coach Geno Auriemma said post-game after looking at Strong’s stat line. “But it’s kind of it. She has such great body control; she has fantastic vision… there isn’t a shot on the floor she can’t hit.”
The sophomore was surgical in her 32 minutes of floor time: looping no-look passes to wide open teammates on the wing, snaring second chance opportunities off the glass and laying them back in or diving for loose balls on the perimeter — she did it all.
“It’s probably blasphemous to say that not a single thing that she does surprises me,” Auriemma said. “What does surprise me is how simple she makes the game look. I think if she wanted to, this would be a normal night for her.”
But Strong wasn’t alone out there. Azzi Fudd, Serah Williams, Ashlynn Shade and Blanca Quiñonez combined for 88 of Connecticut’s 100 points and 35 of the team’s 39-piece field goals.
The Huskies also outscored the Buckeyes 37-13 off turnovers, 58-24 in the paint and 30-21 off the bench. They won the rebounding battle by nine, finished with 30 assists on 39 baskets and finally — shot well from three (44%).
It was an all-around demolition of the Buckeyes, headed by a 23-6 second quarter run that stymied any momentum Kevin McGuff’s squad had after a competitive first period. The Huskies picked apart the Ohio State press to the tune of 27 fast break points and 12 three=pointers — the same press that gave Connecticut headaches during the team’s last meeting in the 2023 Sweet 16.
Quiñonez, who was playing in her second collegiate game on Sunday, finished with 18 points in 22 minutes, hitting 7-of-11 field goal attempts while grabbing 4 rebounds in the detonation of the Buckeyes.
“She’s pretty unique, isn’t she?” Geno Auriemma said with a wry smile.
That she is, coach. The Milagro, Ecuador native wrestled a rebound away from Ohio State center Kylee Kitts early in the second quarter, glided in transition to the rim and laid the ball in while a Buckeye defender slapped her arm for her first and-one opportunity.
She did the same exact thing — a coast-to-coast lay-in and one — a quarter later, only with a little more emotion. After the whistle she turned toward the crowd and screamed, throwing her arms up before Strong hugged her and urged her to the free throw line.
“Blanca and Sarah (Strong) together, they’re interchangeable,” Auriemma said. “We’re still figuring it out, but for the time that they were together, those three [Strong, Quiñonez and Fudd], I thought it was pretty productive.”
Fudd got off to a slower start — a 1-for-7 start, to be exact. Auriemma recognized that she was off, gave her a breather and let her loose a couple of minutes later.
“She didn’t look like herself at the beginning of the game; she didn’t have that Azzi-type focus,” Auriemma said. “She needed a breather. When she came out, [she needed] a deep breath, and then once they start going in, they just keep going in.”
He was right. Fudd then went on to hit six of her next nine, including 4 three-pointers, to finish with 19 points, a career-high 7 assists and 2 steals.
“[My teammates] set me great screens and gave me great passes,” Fudd said post-game. “I couldn’t ask for better ones.”
Williams also got in on the team picture in the painting. The highly touted Wisconsin transfer became the third Husky in double figures midway through the second period after Strong found her under the basket from the opposite end of the court.
Williams finished with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, added a pair of free throws and grabbed 3 rebounds in her 14 minutes.
The rest of the team combined for just 12 points on 4 field goals. Jana El Alfy and Kelis Fisher each added a pair of baskets, Allie Ziebell hit a three-pointer and Kayleigh Heckel added a free throw to reach the century mark for the second time this season.
“It is. It is a challenge,” Auriemma said about managing the team’s deep roster. “You’ll have somebody that deserves 22 minutes and they only get 15.”
The Huskies will need its depth more on Friday, when top ten-ranked Michigan, off the heels of a blowout win over Notre Dame, comes to Uncasville to take part in the Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase.
“They will be the best team we’ve played all year, by a long shot,” Auriemma said. “They’re talented, they’re smart, they’re well balanced.”
Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. on FOX.