Sarah Strong Scores a Career-High 39 as No. 2 UConn Beats No. 10 Iowa 91-79

Photo: UConn Athletics, Sarah Strong official roster portrait. Card design: The Dyme.

Sarah Strong scored a career-high 39 points as No. 2 UConn beat No. 10 Iowa 91-79 on Sunday at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs. She shot 15-of-26 from the field, 5-of-10 from three and 4-of-5 at the line in 37 minutes, per the ESPN box score. She added 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks for a 39-and-10 double-double. Attendance was 10,244. The game aired on FS1. Both teams are now 2-1.

USA Today's live blog flagged 31 as a new career high with five minutes left in the third quarter. She kept going for eight more. Her UConn bio lists 29 points against Ohio State last November as a tie of her previous best.

Three days earlier the same player picked up three fouls in the first eight minutes at No. 5 Michigan, sat the whole second quarter, finished with 13 points and fouled out of a 77-66 loss. Sunday was the reply, and it came against the next ranked team on the board.

26 at the half, 20 in one quarter

Strong scored six in the first quarter, then 20 in the second, by our count from the ESPN play-by-play. The second-quarter run was all range and timing: a 24-foot three at 8:58, a 25-footer at 7:35, a 26-footer at 5:00, a layup at 4:29, two made free throws at 3:16, a tip-in at 3:08, two free throws at 1:28 and a 23-foot three at the horn that made it 52-37 at halftime. She went into the break with 26 of UConn's 52 points.

Iowa kept answering. Chazadi Wright hit a 25-foot three at 5:37 and a 28-footer at 2:08. Taylor Stremlow added a 26-footer at 4:47. The Hawkeyes scored 23 in the second quarter and still fell 15 behind, because Strong kept answering. Her 7:35 three came 25 seconds after a McKenna Woliczko three, and her 5:00 three came 23 seconds after a Dani Carnegie layup.

Her 15-foot jumper at 4:47 of the third made it 66-39. That was UConn's largest lead of the day at 27, matching ESPN's listed largest lead.

The share of the offense

Her 39 were 43% of UConn's 91 points, by our count. Her 15 made field goals were 15 of the team's 34. Her five threes were five of the team's 11. Olivia Vukosa matched her on the boards, the pair leading UConn there, and the Huskies won the glass 38-22, including 10-3 on the offensive boards.

That is a lot of one player, and the box shows why it worked. UConn shot 34-of-62 (55%) from the field and 11-of-21 (52%) from three, per ESPN. The Huskies had 22 assists on 34 made baskets. Ten of Strong’s 15 baskets were assisted, by our count from ESPN’s play-by-play. Those teammate-assisted finishes accounted for two-thirds of her made field goals.

Blanca Quinonez gave UConn a clean second option with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting, 4-of-5 from three, plus four assists and five steals. KK Arnold scored 14 on 5-of-7 with five assists. Jovana Popovic, who led all scorers at Michigan with 25, finished with 10 points and six assists. Four Huskies reached double figures, by our count.

Strong had zero steals on Sunday, per ESPN.

Iowa's fourth quarter

Iowa outscored UConn 28-19 in the fourth quarter, per the ESPN linescores, and cut a 21-point deficit after three (72-51) to 12 at the finish. The Hawkeyes shot 30-of-61 (49%) and 10-of-27 (37%) from three. They scored 36 points in the paint to UConn's 30 and turned UConn's 17 turnovers into 24 points.

Wright led Iowa with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting and 5-of-8 from three, plus five assists. Ava Heiden added 15 on 7-of-11. Carnegie scored 12 on 6-of-15 and went 0-of-7 from three. Amari Whiting had 10 points and seven rebounds.

The late run makes the final look closer than the game felt. ESPN lists one lead change and UConn leading for 85% of the game. Iowa's largest lead was six.

The box score, side by side

Full-game team numbers, per the ESPN box:

Category	UConn	Iowa
Field goals	34-62 (55%)	30-61 (49%)
3-pointers	11-21 (52%)	10-27 (37%)
Free throws	12-16 (75%)	9-12 (75%)
Rebounds	38	22
Offensive rebounds	10	3
Assists	22	16
Turnovers	17	12
Steals	6	8
Blocks	2	2
Points in the paint	30	36
Points off turnovers	18	24
Fast-break points	15	8
Largest lead	27	6
Percent of game led	85%	14%

Quarter scoring, per the ESPN linescores:

Quarter	UConn	Iowa
1	20	14
2	32	23
3	20	14
4	19	28
Final	91	79

Next games

The harder part is what comes next. UConn plays at Ohio State on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 6:30 p.m. ET, per the ESPN schedule. Iowa hosts Northern Iowa the same night at 8:30 p.m. ET. Ohio State is the team Strong scored 29 against last November, so the next box score has a built-in comparison.

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Sources:

• ESPN: Iowa vs. UConn box score
• ESPN: Iowa vs. UConn play-by-play
• ESPN: Iowa vs. UConn game page
• USA Today: Iowa vs. UConn women's basketball live blog
• UConn Athletics: Sarah Strong roster bio
• EssentiallySports: Strong on foul trouble at Michigan
• ESPN: UConn at Ohio State schedule listing (event 401911739)
• ESPN: Northern Iowa at Iowa schedule listing (event 401919981)