{"id":766675,"date":"2026-06-21T10:12:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T10:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/766675\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T10:12:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T10:12:13","slug":"dom-amores-sunday-read-how-scary-could-uconns-sarah-strong-become-kudos-for-trailblazers-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/766675\/","title":{"rendered":"Dom Amore’s Sunday Read: How scary could UConn’s Sarah Strong become? Kudos for trailblazers and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sarah Strong hasn\u2019t<\/a> shown a lot of emotion on the court. Poise, composure, acting like she\u2019s been there are hallmarks of the makeup that has made her the national player of the year in college women\u2019s basketball as a sophomore.<\/p>\n

The question of how good she will get by the time she\u2019s finished with UConn women\u2019s basketball has taken on a new dimension. Not only will she have a chip on her shoulder lingering from the NCAA Final Four loss<\/a> to South Carolina, but she expects to lose the nagging soreness in her Achilles that<\/a> actually hampered her all last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe didn\u2019t practice much in March,\u201d coach Geno Auriemma said. \u201cSo we\u2019re trying to go slowly, no rush right now, just trying to get her to be 100 percent come October. Being a vocal, demonstrative leader doesn\u2019t come natural to her. She\u2019s more laid back, quiet. But I sense she\u2019s more intentional with what she says, who she says it to. I do think she understands, there is being unselfish and then there\u2019s winning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strong averaged 18.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and shot 58.2 percent from the floor last season, and with so many blowout games among the Huskies\u2019 first 38, she did that in limited minutes. She also did it with an Achilles that began to act up long before the season started, while she was playing in the FIBA 3-on-3 World Cup.<\/a><\/p>\n

As Blanca Quinonez gets healthy, she\u2019s anticipates a better Year 2 with UConn women<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt started last summer when I was in Mongolia, it really started to kind of affect me,\u201d Strong said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to say I didn\u2019t affect me at all, I felt it when I was walking to class, just sleeping, it would be there. I felt it.\u201d<\/p>\n

South Carolina, with a smaller player, Raven Johnson guarding her, f<\/a>ound a way to disrupt Strong\u2019s quest for a second national title. Though she had 12 points and 12 rebounds in the game, she wasn\u2019t herself and the Huskies scored only 48 points. After a missed shot at the end of the third quarter, a frustrated Strong ripped her jersey, later explaining it was an \u201caccident,\u201d but the point was, and is, the best player in the country could play an angrier brand of basketball next season.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can have an unbelievable individual season, but what sticks most with her is that we lost,\u201d Auriemma said. \u201c\u2026 That game left a lasting impression on her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strong said she watched film of the game on the plane ride home, and isn\u2019t sure how many times she has watched it since. Trying to play the most important games of the season, against the best competion UConn would be facing, without practice time could not have given a fair representation with the nation watching. Though it was impressive as it was, it\u2019s easy to understand her frustration boiling over in that game.<\/p>\n

\u201cA tough loss is going to fuel us,\u201d Strong said, \u201cbut you want to be better than you were last year. The way last year ended, we don\u2019t want to get back to that. \u2026 Whichever teams want to play defense, I\u2019m going to see everytihng. I would say I have a lot to learn from that game. Not a great memory; take it and learn from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Strong spoke with state reporters this week on campus, her answers were even more clipped than usual, almost terse. Not being on the court with her teammates beginning workouts doesn\u2019t seem to be sitting all that well with her, either, though she knows it is for the best. She is focusing on lifting, stretching, with pilates,<\/a> nutrition. For a sore Achilles to get better, it takes a respite from the pounding on the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like my body needs it,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m just trying to get healthier for next season. \u2026 I do also worry about it because I do want to be there for my team. I feel like we\u2019re building chemistry now and I want to be a part of that, so I\u2019m just trying to get back soon and start doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seniors KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade, along with Strong, form a leadership core now that Azzi Fudd, Paige Bueckers and their classmates are gone from the program. The national focus will be trained ever sharper on Sarah Strong next season, and one can only imagine, as good as she has been, how good can she be if she is completely healthy \u2014 and, maybe, edgier than ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer ceiling is limitless,\u201d Shade said.<\/p>\n

More for your Sunday Read:<\/p>\n

Honoring trailblazers in women\u2019s sports<\/p>\n

Stamford\u2019s Donna Lopiano<\/a> was among the trailblazers of women\u2019s sports honored at a banquet staged by Southern Connecticut State University in Prospect this week. She was joined by Donna de Varona, Elana Meyers Taylor and SCSU alum Dawn Stanton, former track star and the mother of Olympic gold medalist Alexis Holmes as Andrea Joyce emceed.<\/p>\n

Olympic gold medalist shares words of hope, perseverance with grads at American School for the Deaf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Lopiano, a legendary softball player who was instrumental in the establishment of Title IX and the opportunities as CEO of the Women\u2019s Sports Foundation<\/a> it has created for women in sports, was presented by her former Texas colleague Jody Conradt.<\/a> Last month, Lopiano was among the Stamford sports figures honored with the naming of a field<\/a> in her honor. However, she noted, she could not actually play on the field at Stamford High because as a teenager she was already starring with the famous Brakettes, so at her suggestion the field will be called \u201cDonna Lopiano Title IX Field.\u201d In the late 1950s, Lopiano, 78, was told by the local Little League, \u201cno girls allowed,\u201d the words that inspired all she has gone on to accomplish.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lesson is, no child should be told they\u2019re not allowed to pursue their dreams,\u201d Lopiano, also a Southern alum, said in her speech. \u201cIt\u2019s our responsibility that, whether it\u2019s a boy or girl, that everybody has their chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

SCSU plans to make this an annual event.<\/p>\n

Sunday short takes<\/p>\n

*Austin Peterson could be the next UConn alum in the major leagues. On Tuesday he threw 5 1\/3 scoreless innings, striking out 12 for Columbus,<\/a> the Guardians\u2019 Triple A affiliate.<\/p>\n

*UConn women\u2019s hockey had three players drafted by the PWHL:<\/a> Goalie Tia Chan (28th overall, by San Jose), Kyla Josifovic (39th, Detroit) and Megan Woodworth (42nd, Hamilton). Yale had four players, Quinnipiac two among 59 players taken.<\/p>\n

*Marina Perry of Rocky Hill, a track standout at CCSU, was named an Northeast Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year.<\/a> Perry, a shot-putter, helped Central capture four league championships in her career.<\/p>\n

*Is there anything dumber out there than folks debating the legitimacy of a championship? Happens all the time these days. The Knicks are the NBA Champions in 2026 \u2014 no qualifications, no explainations<\/a> necessary.<\/p>\n

Dom Amore\u2019s Sunday Read: CT golfer on verge of his milestone round; support for Tony Reno, and more<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Last word<\/p>\n

As anticipated after last week\u2019s \u201cRead,\u201d I heard from another local golfer who has played every public course in Connecticut. Gary Berman, 78, of Simsbury,<\/a> member of the Connecticut Amateur Golf League and the Tour of Greater Boston, wrote to say he has played them all and, in fact, every public course within 100 miles of his home, and counts 768 different courses played since he retired 23 years ago. So a tip of the visor to Mr. B.<\/p>\n

Dom Amore: To Japan and back, this former UConn star has helped spur dramatic MLB turnaround<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sarah Strong hasn\u2019t shown a lot of emotion on the court. Poise, composure, acting like she\u2019s been there…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":766676,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3723],"tags":[7,14322,217,2340,93992,93988,93987,6108,10420,41312,93993,87762,2679,1203,231,772,1544,93990,6115,93989,922,6107,93991,6208],"class_list":["post-766675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-basketball","tag-basketball","tag-ccsu","tag-college-basketball","tag-connecticut","tag-ctnews","tag-donna-devarona","tag-donna-lopiano","tag-geno-auriemma","tag-golf","tag-guardians","tag-hartford-courant-max-image-preview","tag-jody-conradt","tag-local-news","tag-mlb","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-basketball","tag-ncaab","tag-pwhl-draft","tag-sarah-strong","tag-scsu","tag-uconn","tag-uconn-womens-basketball","tag-uconn-womens-hockey","tag-white-sox"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116787566631186646","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=766675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766675\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/766676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}