Life without Paige Bueckers seems to be going just fine for UConn so far in the 2025–26 season and a major reason for that is Sarah Strong. Even on a stacked roster, the sophomore forward stands out on both ends of the floor, as evidenced by her explosive game against Ohio State on Sunday, when she was three assists shy of a triple-double.
“You can’t really scout her,” Buckeyes guard Jaloni Cambridge said after that game. “It’s hard to scout her, she can do everything.”
A star women’s basketball player coming out of Storrs? Shocking! But our writers and editors try to put into context just how good Strong is.
Emma Baccellieri: No. It’s been a while since the clear best player in the college game was a big: The Naismith has been awarded to guards in five of the last six years. (The lone exception there was Aliyah Boston in 2022.) But it’s hard to imagine that streak continuing this season. Strong is that good, and right now, there’s no one else who feels particularly close. What especially impresses me is how she’s managed to expand her skillset this year: Alongside her scoring, rebounding and defense, she’s become a legitimate threat as a passer, too. She currently leads UConn with 5.0 assists per game. Even on a loaded roster, playing for the best team in the country, Strong manages to stand out as uniquely influential all over the floor.
Find us something Sarah Strong can’t do (you can’t)
vs. Ohio State:
– 29 points
– 13 rebounds
– 7 assists
– 3 blocks
– 5 steals
– 0 turnovers pic.twitter.com/zzAWIxQU8T
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) November 16, 2025
Clare Brennan: No. Strong has a quiet demeanor on and off the court, stealthily putting up impressive numbers for the Huskies. Her poise can sometimes conceal the enormity of her performances, but her 29-point, 13-rebound outburst against Ohio State on Sunday demanded attention. She is versatile and impacts every part of the game, setting her apart from the nation’s other top players.
Dan Falkenheim: No. Hannah Hidalgo might have made the race interesting if her play elevated Notre Dame to contender status, but, well, more on that later in this roundtable. It’s hard to put into words how good Strong is, so numbers will have to do: She leads UConn in field goal percentage, points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. Last year, she became the first player to have at least 20 points, 15 boards and five assists in the national championship game. Simply, there’s no one dominating like how Strong is dominating right now.
Baccellieri: South Carolina. I’m fully expecting the Gamecocks to make a sixth consecutive trip to the Final Four. And what intrigues me most about their potential for a championship run is the addition of transfer Madina Okot. The 6′ 6″ center has striking handles and speed for her size, and as she keeps integrating herself into this roster, Okot might become even more of a matchup nightmare.
Brennan: UCLA. The Bruins have weapons all over the floor and the depth to contend with the Huskies. Six players finished in double figures in their win over South Florida on Saturday. Gabriela Jaquez led the charge in that outing with 17 points, but Cori Close has players up and down the roster who are capable of showing out on any given night. Bruins star Lauren Betts is also one of the few players in the country who has the size and skill to give UConn’s Strong problems.
Falkenheim: South Carolina. The scary part? We haven’t seen the Gamecocks with Ta’Niya Latson at the peak of her powers yet. Depth will be South Carolina’s major question mark against a team like UConn, but its starting five is as good as anyone’s. (And, sophomore forward Joyce Edwards deserves her due for her play this year.)
Through five games, sophomore forward Joyce Edwards is leading South Carolina with 18.8 points per game. / Jeff Blake-Imagn Images
TCU: The No. 17 Horned Frogs took down No. 10 NC State on Monday. It was just the second time in program history that TCU had beaten a top-10 opponent on the road—and perhaps the scariest part of that is that it did not require a huge performance from star transfer Olivia Miles. The point guard had an uncharacteristically poor shooting night, 4-for-18, but she made her presence felt elsewhere in the box score, and the rest of her teammates packed enough of a punch to carry the day. TCU has offered a remarkably balanced scoring effort so far this year: Miles, Donovyn Hunter, Marta Suárez and Clara Silva are all averaging in double figures. There may not be a lot of bench depth here, but with that strong of a starting five, it may not matter too much.
Michigan: The Wolverines climbed up eight spots to No. 6 in this week’s AP Top 25 women’s college basketball poll following its 93–54 blowout over Notre Dame on Saturday. The 39-point trouncing of the then-No.18 Fighting Irish was Michigan’s largest win over a top 25 team. Kim Barnes Arico’s squad stifled Hidalgo, who was 4-for-21 from the field, scoring 12 points while committing seven turnovers. While young, the Wolverines’ core is cohesive, with many having made a second-round NCAA tournament run together as freshmen last year. Olivia Olson (who led all scorers Saturday with 20 points), Mia Holloway and Syla Swords are all back in Ann Arbor for their sophomore season, leading Barnes Arico’s impressive backcourt. The team’s frontcourt is a bit more of a question mark—although Ashley Sofilkanich, who transferred from Bucknell, notched 10 points and three rebounds in 12 minutes against Notre Dame—and will undoubtedly be tested when Michigan faces UConn and Strong on Friday. Geno Auriemma isn’t taking the matchup for granted. “Based on the little bit I’ve seen of Michigan, they will be, for sure, the best team we play this year, by a long shot at this time in the season,” the Huskies coach said following the win over Ohio State on Sunday. High praise from the sport’s longest-tenured active coach.
Notre Dame: There’s no shame in losing to No. 14 Michigan. But losing by nearly 40 points with truly abysmal shooting while getting outrebounded 50–28? That’s hard to swallow. Notre Dame’s shoddy performance included giving up a 16–0 run in the fourth quarter to Michigan. This roster was always going to look different this season after losing several key players to the portal and WNBA. But a breakdown like this signals critical problems with defense, depth and three-point shooting.
Duke: Woof. The Blue Devils started the season with the eighth-best odds to win the national championship, and now they have tumbled out of the Top 25 rankings. Friday night’s loss—a defeat in which Duke shot 37.5% from the floor, had 20 turnovers and couldn’t overcome a West Virginia team that had just five eligible players for the entire second half—was as bad as all of the context implies. The Blue Devils’ lack of finishing is self-inflicted: They went 8-for-22 and 10-for-25 on shots within five feet of the hoop in their losses to Baylor and the Mountaineers, respectively. It’s also a symptom of an inefficient offense that will need to improve, especially if Kara Lawson & Co. have hopes of putting themselves back on the map in upcoming games against South Carolina (Nov. 26) and LSU (Dec. 4).
RESILIENCE.#HailWV pic.twitter.com/IP7RqLyxhk
— WVU Women’s Basketball (@WVUWBB) November 15, 2025
Speaking of that Duke loss, the Mountaineers pulled off the win after their entire bench was thrown out of the game for entering the court during a shoving match late in the second quarter.
That made winning the Battle at the Greenbrier all the more sweet for West Virginia.
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