STORRS — As the UConn women’s basketball broke down its huddle before its game against Butler on Saturday, Sarah Strong had to fight the urge to run out on the court with the rest of the starting lineup.
Strong had started 64 consecutive games for the Huskies before Saturday, when she sat out due to a tightness in her calves that has nagged her for more than a year. She also took the day off during practice the previous Friday. It went against everything in the All-American forward’s nature to watch her team compete from the sidelines, but she recognized the rest was what her body needs even though it wasn’t what she wanted.
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“I definitely felt weird with my first time sitting out,” Strong said Tuesday after practice. “Especially during practice when they’re doing all the drills and struggling, I really want to be part of that and help my team wherever I can, but I had to take the rest and get better.”
In her sophomore season, Strong said she’s made it a priority to be more intentional and well-rounded approach to recovery. Last year, taking care of her body meant an occasional dip in the cold tubs after games, but she’s learned the importance of prioritizing every aspect of her physical well-being from how she stretches to what she eats to how much sleep she gets.
“We decided to be smart, take a practice and the game off the get my legs back under me and just feel better,” Strong said. “Your body is what keeps you going, especially in basketball. The nutrition, the post-practice and post-game recovery, sleeping, all of that is really important.”
Strong will be back on the court Wednesday night when the undefeated Huskies host Creighton for a Big East matchup at Gampel Pavilion. The sophomore forward, who was named a top 20 candidate for the Wooden Award on Tuesday, averages 19.2 points, eight rebounds, 4.5 assists, 3.4 steals and 1.5 blocks to lead UConn in all five categories, and she also has the best field goal percentage on the team hitting 60.1% from the field.
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It didn’t look like the Huskies missed Strong in their 80-48 final score against Butler, but the flow of the offense was noticeably disjointed, especially in the first half. Star guard Azzi Fudd, who also made the Wooden Award top 20, picked up the scoring mantle for Strong with 17 points and four assists in 23 minutes, but there was no replacement for Strong’s relentlessness on the boards or her on-court leadership at both ends of the floor.
“She was a great voice on the bench as well with the things that she saw,” point guard KK Arnold said. “But the rebounding aspect, making sure we’re very aggressive on the boards and how everybody needs to crash whether that’s with Sarah or without, I feel like that was a point emphasis. That was the biggest thing I’d say (we missed) was her big presence for rebounding.”
Strong’s return is particularly important because UConn will still be without freshman forward Blanca Quinonez against the Bluejays. Quinonez has missed four straight games since aggravating a shoulder injury that previously kept her out of two games in November. Coach Geno Auriemma has repeatedly assured that injury is minor, but the team is being ultra-cautious about putting her back on the court with the postseason on the horizon.
“With the whole team at this time of the year, the most important thing is just making sure that we’re good to go for March,” Auriemma said. “I’m sure Blanca wants to be playing right now, but there’s no point in taking any chances.”
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Quinonez was a standout the last time the Huskies faced Creighton in Omaha on Jan. 11, putting up 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting in the 95-54 win. The freshman, who is UConn’s third-leading scorer this season, also posted three steals and four rebounds against the Bluejays. Auriemma said Quinonez recently resumed workouts, and she could return as soon as Saturday’s game at Marquette.
“(I’ve learned) I shouldn’t be as pissy with her as I am,” Auriemma joked about playing without Quinonez. “She drives you crazy because of how many things she wants to do, but when you watch film and you watch the games, you see how much she impacts the game … When she’s not out there — trust me, I ask her every day, ‘How long is your vacation gonna last?’”
How to watch
Site: Gampel Pavilion, Storrs
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Time/date: 7 p.m., Wednesday
Team records: UConn 25-0 (14-0), Butler 12-12 (8-7)
Series record: UConn leads 13-0
Last meeting: 95-54 UConn, Jan. 11 in Omaha, Neb.
TV: NBC Sports Network
Streaming: Peacock
Radio: UConn Sports Network on FOX Sports 97.9
