Strong’s 39 powers No. 2 UConn past No. 10 Iowa
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STORRS, Conn. -- Sarah Strong scored 26 of her career-high 39 points in the first half as No. 2 UConn beat No. 10 Iowa 91-79 on Sunday.
Blanca Quinonez had 21 points and hit her fourth 3-pointer of the game with 2:57 remaining after Iowa pulled within 10 points. KK Arnold added 14 points and Jovana Popovic had 10 points and six assists for UConn, which returned home after suffering its first loss of the season on the road against Michigan.
Chit-Chat Wright had 23 points, Ava Heiden had 15 points and Dani Carnegie finished with 12 points for Iowa (2-1).
Heiden had five points as Iowa jumped out to an early six-point lead. Quinonez came off the bench to score 11 points as UConn finished the first quarter on a 13-3 run.
UConn (2-1) opened the second quarter with 3-pointers by Strong and Ashlynn Shade to take its first double-digit lead. Iowa had the ball late in the second quarter with a chance to go into halftime only down by nine or 10 points. However, a Quinonez steal led to a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Strong as UConn led 52-37 at the break.
Heiden, Iowa's top rebounder and third-leading scorer, picked up her second foul with 2:09 left in the first quarter. She didn't return for the remainder of the first half. The Hawkeyes had one field goal in nearly four minutes when Heiden first went to the bench. Heiden didn't score in six minutes in the third quarter as she picked up her third and fourth fouls.
Up next
Iowa: Hosts Northern Iowa on Thursday.
UConn: Plays at No. 18 Ohio State on Thursday.