FORT WORTH — Sarah Strong was destined to do it, according to Geno Auriemma.
Not to score at will or rebound over three defenders, or to anchor the defense while also being the sure-handed, stable presence on the floor at all times. She was expected to do that all — and she has — from her first day on campus.
She was destined to step up and lead — especially in the harrowing late-game environments of the NCAA Tournament.
“As you can tell,” Auriemma admitted with a smile. “That’s not her natural disposition. But she knows that when it’s time to win games, that she has a huge responsibility. Some players shy away from it, and she likes it.”
As No. 1-seed, UConn struggled to escape arch-nemesis and No.6-seed Notre Dame in the Elite Eight Sunday. It was Strong who took command of the on-court huddles. It was Strong’s voice that reverberated over the pep band’s deafening tune. It was Strong that directed the Huskies in transition as the fiery Hannah Hidalgo came barreling down the floor at full speed.
And it wasn’t the sophomore’s top-shelf scoring ability that eventually propelled Connecticut (38-0) to the Final Four for the 25th time in program history with a 70-52 win over the Irish (25-11), but her leadership and poise; qualities Auriemma attributes to being one of the “great ones.”
“Watching Sarah in practice every day and in the games that we’ve played find the level of leadership that sometimes shows itself in how many points she’s scored or how many rebounds she’s gotten,” Auriemma said. “But in other ways — in huddles, during timeouts — what she has to say [is valuable]. So, because I’ve seen it all year long, I would expect to see it in a game like today.”
While Strong’s three blocked shots, seven rebounds, five steals and 21 points certainly helped UConn in its fourth quarter separation, it was her composure that steadied Connecticut’s destabilized first-half ship.
That composure was vital as the Huskies dealt with the chaos-inducing Hidalgo teleporting around the court and wreaking havoc on whatever Auriemma had drawn up in the huddle.
But early on, it wasn’t just Hidalgo. With KK Arnold and a contingent of other Huskies prioritizing the slithery junior point guard in the lane, both Cassandre Prosper and Malaya Cowles got open looks at the rim courtesy of the Irish backcourt, keeping the game within one possession for the majority of the first quarter.
Notre Dame won the war on the glass in the first quarter and scored eight of its 11 points in the paint, dissecting Connecticut’s help-oriented defense with a slew of cuts and off-ball screens.
The Irish’s early paint dominance was offset by Blanca Quiñonez’s two 3-pointers and 12 first quarter points, which spearheaded UConn’s otherwise stagnant offense. With Strong and Fudd drawing immediate double teams, and uncharacteristically missing the open shots they were granted, the Huskies turned to Quiñonez to fill the scoring void.
Quiñonez finished with 20 points on four 3-pointers and eight rebounds, setting a new post-season high in her 30 minutes of game-time.
Connecticut led 20-11 after the first quarter, holding Hidalgo scoreless for the first 10 minutes for the second time in as many meetings with the Irish. Inevitably, she found a rhythm in the second, however.
With Fudd neutralized on the perimeter, Hidalgo chipped away at the deficit with a step-back 3-pointer early in the second period that forced a UConn timeout, sprinting back to the Irish bench and throwing her arms up in excitement.
Notre Dame was within four points, and the Huskies hadn’t scored on two consecutive possessions since the first quarter. It didn’t seem to bother Strong, though.
Out of the timeout, Strong tipped a Hidalgo 3-pointer, ran down the floor and directed Quiñonez to the basket for an easy look at the rim.
Allie Ziebell checked in and scored immediately on a back cut drawn from a Strong-drawn double team. Strong, on the next possession, nailed a spot-up jumper from the elbow to stretch the lead back to 10. Irish timeout.
As the Irish retreated to their bench, Strong implored her teammates to keep the energy, pointing to different spots on the court that she saw open on the previous possession.
And the Huskies did just that.
Fudd added a runner to start the second half. Arnold and Strong added four more within the next 45 seconds. Quiñonez found Jana El Alfy under the rim for an uncontested lay in. Kayleigh Heckel added two more at the charity stripe seconds later.
No matter what Hidalgo and the Irish did offensively, Strong and the Huskies did it better seconds later.
“We saw last game, she got a lot of shots up, so we wanted to limit her touches,” Strong said of the Huskies’ game plan coming in. “It was our points guard that was guarding her but we were in help in the gaps. So, it’s just not letting her do whatever she wanted to do.”
UConn’s lead swelled to 11 by the end of the third, catalyzed by a 7-0 run that included Strong’s first 3-pointer of the afternoon on the wing.
The All-American forward forced an Irish turnover on the next possession, sauntered down the court and found Fudd, who nailed another elbow jumper to stretch the lead to 13, to force another Notre Dame timeout.
UConn suffocated Hidalgo and the Irish’s last gasp at a comeback in the final seven minutes with a slew of forced turnovers and blocks, growing its lead to as large as 19 by the fourth quarter media timeout.
“This is the hardest game there is to play,” Auriemma said of the pressure of the Elite Eight. “It’s so hard to get to the Final Four… I’m really proud of our players and how we managed to flip the switch a little bit in each game.”
UConn, the top overall seed, will await the winner of No. 1-seed South Carolina and No. 3-seed TCU in Phoenix on Friday. It’ll be the Huskies 25th Final Four and 17th appearance in the last 18 tournaments.
“There is a level of confidence that Sarah has that lifts them up to someplace where they wouldn’t be able to be by themselves or with somebody different,” Auriemma said. “They play with confidence knowing they have her — that’s probably the best compliment that I can give her.”