NEW YORK, N.Y. –– Six months ago, Sarah Strong was gutted.
Strong and her teammates in the UConn women’s basketball program lost to South Carolina in the Final Four in April.
After going undefeated throughout their 2025-26 campaign, they lost 62-48 against the Gamecocks in Phoenix, Ariz.
At the time though, instead of focusing on the loss, Head Coach Geno Auriemma offered to look at it as a way to light a fire underneath Strong and his roster.
“She’s carried a huge load for this team. An awful lot falls on her,” Auriemma said after the loss. “I don’t think Sarah Strong needs me to put any fire or motivation or anything into her. We’ll be back here next year. She’ll make sure of that.”
As a sophomore, Strong was named the AP National Player of the Year, averaging 18.4 points and 7.7 rebounds each game.
Along with her National Player of the Year award, she racked up all of the Player of the Year awards including the Naismith Trophy, the Wooden Award, the Wade Trophy and the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award.
Now, as she enters her third year as a Husky, fans won’t see the same Sarah Strong hit the hardwood.
In fact, they’re going to see a completely evolved version of the forward.
“She’s National Player of the Year now, and it’s pretty hard to get that much better,” Head Coach Geno Auriemma said when asked about Strong. “Whatever we’ve seen the last two years, which is pretty incredible, I think there is more that she has.”
According to Auriemma, he’s seen glimpses of this new edge in practice.
Strong took this past summer off, sitting out of practice alongside her teammates and USA basketball to rest and rehab an Achilles injury she suffered last season.
However, it appears as if Strong will come back this season as good as ever.
“She’s just more sure of herself,” Strong’s teammate KK Arnold said. “She’s leading by example […] she’s also using her voice more. That leadership piece, it was always there but now it’s more evident.”
Even as Strong becomes an upperclassman, her former teammates like Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers have left a void that the North Carolina native must fill on the court.
The Huskies’ head coach often noticed an apprehensiveness from the forward each time she tried to take a shot.
For example, if Fudd or Bueckers were on the court, she’d pass it to them instead of taking the shot.
“She was like a reluctant star,” Auriemma said, describing Strong’s first two years playing alongside Bueckers and Fudd. “There’s no one to defer to this year.”
For years, Bueckers and Fudd have been the go-to players for their squad. This season, Strong is that player.
“Without question, every single possession,” Auriemma said. “That gives her so many opportunities to do so many more things.”
What Strong is doing in practice now, though, is what she hasn’t done in years prior.
Instead of waiting throughout possessions like she had done before, there’s no time for her to wait now.
Auriemma emphasized that in the moments that Strong does wait, that’s when the flukes like an incomplete or miscommunicated pass occur.
During practices, Auriemma is encouraging her to use her voice, which he argues is better than how many points or rebounds she can score.
To see the fully evolved Strong in action in her junior year campaign, tune in on Monday, Oct. 12, when UConn will gear up to take on the Syracuse Orange for an exhibition matchup.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena.