​Sarah Strong’s advanced stats case as the best player in women’s college basketball history originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Sarah Strong is not going to enter the WNBA until 2028.Her stats in the NCAA offer a glimpse into why the entire league is willing to wait on her, because they know what they will get when she arrives.Strong has just started her junior season at UConn. Though the Huskies suffered a surprise early-season loss to the Michigan Wolverines last Thursday, Strong has looked as dominant as ever on both ends of the floor.The advanced stats are not just making the case that Strong is currently the best women’s college basketball player alive — even over prospective 2027 top pick JuJu Watkins — but that she is maybe the best women’s college basketball player ever.Strong’s ridiculous numbers pace UConnStrong on Sunday led the Huskies to a 91-79 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes. During that game, the forward became the first UConn player in 17 years to score at least 35 points, haul in at least 10 rebounds and drill at least five 3-pointers in the same game.Sarah Strong is the first UConn player since Maya Moore in 2009 to record: 35+ PTS 10+ REB 5+ 3PM https://t.co/J1h7q0gtnZ— Real App (@realapp) November 8, 2026In three games during 2026/27, Strong is averaging 23.7 points and 7.3 rebounds while boasting 55/45/75 shooting splits. But her impact goes beyond the box score and the standard counting stats, which are already impressive on their own.Basketball Reference tracks a player’s overall impact using Offensive Box Plus-Minus and Defensive Box Plus-Minus. OBPM and DPBM figures tell us a player’s estimated contribution on both ends per 100 possessions, relative to a league or competition’s average.Strong’s career DBPM stands at 10.5 points better than average per 100 possessions. That is an NCAA Division I record for individual player impact, and it reflects her dominance defensively; she posted a minuscule 56.5 defensive rating last season, which led the country. Her 130 steals led all players in the Big East Conference.But on the offensive end, Strong is just as brilliant. Her 14.8 OBPM is also the highest in Division I history — better than Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Breanna Stewart and Angel Reese.Strong led the Big East in points scored and in field goal percentage last season. Her size, touch and range make her difficult to stop, because she can score from anywhere. She is a career 40 percent shooter from 3-point range, and she shot better than 58 percent from the field in both her freshman and sophomore years.With Strong, we are talking about a generational prospect who comes around maybe once every decade. If she stays healthy, there’s no doubt she will be the first player off the board in the 2028 WNBA Draft — and she has the talent to change whichever franchise selects her.More news:Why Valkyries’ former top-five pick reportedly w