UConn's Geno Auriemma Praises Sarah Strong for Rare Feat

The UConn Huskies are still unbeaten, sitting at 19-0. In their last match, the Huskies faced Notre Dame at Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies walked into the game having lost their last three games against the Fighting Irish. However, this time, history did not repeat itself.

The Huskies took down Notre Dame 85–47. Azzi Fudd made 15 points, KK Arnold added 12 points while being brilliant defensively, and that defense guarded Hannah Hidalgo for long stretches. While the game in itself was one for the books, the night ultimately turned to Sarah Strong.

Strong had 18 points, 11 rebounds and three steals against the Fighting Irish. Amid the game, during the first half, Strong became part of an elite group. Strong is now the third fastest Husky to hit 1000 career points.

It took Strong only 59 games, a pace only Paige Bueckers and Maya Moore have ever beaten at UConn. While the efficiency isn’t surprising, Geno Auriemma found how it happened fascinating.

As Auriemma sees it, “It is because, one, she doesn’t need a lot of shots. I would love to see if anybody has scored 1,000 points by taking fewer shots than she’s taken. She’s so efficient. I’m not surprised that she’s gotten to 1,000 this quickly because it’s consistent every night. She doesn’t go two or three games where she comes up empty with three or four points, five points, six points. Her consistency is what stands out. Kind of like Paige and Maya, the same thing. Their efficiency. Those thousand points come within the context of what we’re trying to do as a team, not let’s feed her the ball to get her to 1,000. So now she’s got a long way to go.”

Sarah Strong today 🔥

• 18 points
• 11 rebounds
• 3 steals
• 3 blocks
• 3 assists
• 8/12 FGpic.twitter.com/mFiiaD1Cq9
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) January 19, 2026

Strong has been brilliant all season. She has been averaging 18.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 3.7 steals and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting an absurd 59.9% from the field, 42.0% from three and 89.7% at the line. With that kind of production and gameplay, the question now is, what is the improvement Auriemma expects from Strong?

What’s the “work to be done” on Sarah Strong?

As Auriemma puts it, “I don’t know. I don’t know that I could sit here and map it out for you because whatever I say, she’s already doing it," he said.

"So that would mean if she left at the end of this year, you’d go, ‘Wow, that kid had a great career at UConn.’ But to the best of my knowledge, she’s not going anywhere," he continued. "So two more years of getting better. I’m anxious to see where it goes, but I know it’s not going to stay the same. And believe me, if you were to come tomorrow and watch film, you’d go, ‘Yeah, there’s some work to be done.’”

This season, Strong has been named Big East Player of the Week five times, for a total of eight times in her career. She already owns UConn freshman records in rebounds and ranks near the top in points, assists and steals. She’s even in the NCAA record book for tournament scoring by a freshman.

Over her last several outings, Strong has had 24 points, nine boards and five blocks against Villanova, and 18 points with 13 rebounds at Creighton, repeatedly flirting with double-doubles while anchoring the defense. If there is more to Strong's game, as Auriemma says, then she just might be a legend in the making.

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