No. 2 UConn needed a reset, and Sarah Strong delivered it in a big way Sunday at Gampel Pavilion.
Behind a career night from Strong, the Huskies beat No. 10 Iowa 91-79 and moved to 2-1 on the season.
Strong poured in 39 points on 15-for-26 shooting, all career highs, and she also tied her previous best with five made 3-pointers. It was the first time she had ever gone over 30 points as a Husky.
UConn didn’t exactly burst out of the gate. The Huskies opened by making just one of their first four shots while Iowa grabbed a 12-7 lead.
Then Blanca Quiñonez stepped in and changed the tone. The sophomore scored nine points during an 11-0 run that put UConn in front for good.
From there, Strong took control. She scored 20 points in the second quarter alone and accounted for 14 of UConn’s final 16 points before halftime, finishing the half with 26 - exactly half of the Huskies’ total at the break. Her last basket before intermission was a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The scoring surge didn’t stop after halftime. Strong tied her previous career high of 29 with a triple, then topped it a few possessions later on a drive to the basket. Those plays came during a 14-0 UConn run that stretched the lead to 27.
Quiñonez gave the Huskies more than just that early spark, too. She finished with a career-high-tying 21 points.
KK Arnold added 14 points and five assists, and Jovana Popovic scored 10. The four of them combined for 85 of UConn’s 91 points.
Iowa made things uncomfortable late. The Hawkeyes scored 14 of the final 16 points in the fourth quarter to trim the margin to 10, but Quiñonez answered with a 3-pointer at the 2:58 mark to steady UConn. The Huskies were able to close it out from there for a 12-point win.
Next up for UConn is a road trip to face No. 18 Ohio State on Thursday.
Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
In Other News...
UConn Just Got Another Early Reminder The Polls Need Convincing
UConns latest AP Top 25 placement offered a familiar kind of early-season reminder: even after beating Michigan 85-77 in a rematch of last years national championship game, the Huskies are still sitting at No. 4. The top of the poll remains crowded with Florida, Duke and Illinois ahead of them, which means Dan Hurleys team is already in the position of having to keep proving that its early work belongs right there with the nations best.
There will be chances to do exactly that later in the nonconference schedule, including meetings with Duke and Illinois that should give UConn a direct chance to reshape the conversation. For now, the Huskies can at least point to the start they have made, along with some individual recognition for Colben Landrew and Braylon Mullins, who earned Big East weekly honors for their play in the first two games of the season. [Read more 🡒]
UConns Fast Start Has Fans Eyeing A Bigger Early Climb
UConn stayed put at No. 4 in the first AP Top 25 poll of the season after opening with a 2-0 start that already offered a little bit of everything. The Huskies handled Gardner-Webb and then backed it up with a win over No. 16 Michigan, a useful early reminder that last seasons standard is still the one this group is chasing.
Freshman Colben Landrew gave the weekend even more of a lift by earning Big East Freshman of the Week honors, another sign that UConn is getting contributions beyond the usual headline names. The schedule does not ease up for long, either, with Wagner, Ohio State, Arizona and Duke all looming as the Huskies try to turn a promising start into something bigger. [Read more 🡒]
UConns November Statement Just Changed How The Huskies Look Nationally
November has already started to reshape the national picture, and UConn is right in the middle of it. Preseason exhibition results have carried more weight than usual in the early AP Top 25 conversation, with some teams getting pushed down after shaky tune-ups and others falling out altogether before the real games even settle in. For the Huskies, that kind of early movement matters because it changes the way the rest of the country is viewing the defending standard in college basketball.
Michigan States slide after exhibition losses is one sign of how quickly the rankings are being rethought, and Tennessees absence after a rough preseason is another. UConns place in that conversation is a reminder that one strong November statement can ripple beyond a single result, influencing how voters sort the top tier and how the next round of matchups will be judged. The bigger question now is how long that early impression holds once the schedule starts offering more chances for teams to answer back. [Read more 🡒]