Sarah Strong Has 8 Steals and Jovana Popovic Scores 19 in Debut as No. 2 UConn Routs Cornell 100-35

The first night of a new season in Hartford looked a lot like the last few. No. 2 UConn took the ball away 25 times, ran out to a 33-point halftime lead and beat Cornell 100-35 on Monday, Nov. 2, at PeoplesBank Arena.

Sarah Strong, the reigning National Player of the Year, scored 19 points and set a career high with eight steals. Freshman Jovana Popovic matched Strong with 19 points in a first official game for the Huskies. KK Arnold and freshman Marine Dursus added 11 each, and UConn won its 31st straight season opener, according to the AP.

UConn is 1-0 and Cornell is 0-1. Here is the ESPN box score (opens in a new tab) and UConn's official recap (opens in a new tab).

Two runs and a 46-13 half

There was not much mystery after the opening minutes. UConn put together a 21-0 run and a 22-0 run in the first half, according to the AP, while Cornell missed 12 straight shots at one point. The Huskies led 27-5 after the first quarter and 46-13 at halftime.

The defense did most of the work. UConn had 16 steals in the first half alone, per the AP, and Strong had seven of them, already a career high before the break. The Big Red made only five baskets in the first half and did not match that total until 6:46 into the third quarter.

The third quarter was Cornell's best stretch of the night. The Big Red scored 16 points in the period, three more than they managed in the entire first half, and UConn still won the quarter 21-16 to carry a 67-29 lead into the fourth.

Offensively, UConn spread it around. The Huskies were shooting 61 percent late in the first half and got baskets from eight different players, according to the AP. Strong found teammates as well as anyone on the floor, finishing with a game-high five assists to go with the eight steals and four rebounds. Strong did not commit a turnover.

Popovic's first look

Popovic, the new freshman starter, looked comfortable right away. Popovic went 8 of 12 from the field and 3 of 4 from 3-point range for 19 points with three rebounds, three steals and a single assist in 24 minutes, and did not turn the ball over. Popovic and Dursus each made three of UConn's 11 3-pointers, tied for the team lead.

Strong had nearly the same scoring line, 8 of 14 from the field, 2 of 4 from deep and 1 of 1 at the line, in 22 minutes. Neither played in the fourth quarter, according to the AP, so the two combined for 38 points in about three quarters of work.

Popovic was one of three Huskies making a debut, per UConn. Dursus scored 11 points off the bench on 4 of 5 shooting, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range, in 16 minutes. Olivia Vukosa, another freshman, led all players with eight rebounds and made all four free throws for four points.

Arnold, El Alfy and a deep bench

Arnold, a senior, was the third starter in double figures with 11 points on 5 of 9 shooting, two assists and four steals. Jana El Alfy added nine points on 3 of 4 shooting and five rebounds, four of them on the offensive glass, in 13 minutes. Ashlynn Shade did a bit of everything in 20 minutes, with five points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block and no turnovers.

The bench was just as productive. UConn's reserves scored 37 points, according to the school, and 11 Huskies scored at least four. Kelis Fisher made all three shots for seven points with three assists in eight minutes. Allie Ziebell scored seven, Kayleigh Heckel had four points and seven rebounds, and sophomore Blanca Quiñonez, who did not play in UConn's three exhibition games according to the AP, scored four with two steals. Gandy Malou-Mamel did not score but grabbed four rebounds, three on the offensive end.

Ten Huskies played at least 13 minutes, per UConn. Geno Auriemma used all 12 players, and the minutes were spread evenly enough that no one played more than 24.

The numbers behind the margin

UConn shot 54.9 percent from the field (39 of 71) and 11 of 20 from 3-point range. The Huskies were 11 of 14 at the free throw line.

The Huskies won the rebounding battle 47-26 and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds.

UConn had 23 assists on 39 made baskets, with 25 steals and three blocks. Cornell turned it over 29 times, more than double its 14 made field goals, and UConn scored 43 points off those turnovers, according to the school. UConn had 15 turnovers of its own, spread across seven players, with no one committing more than three.

The defensive pressure came from everywhere. Eight different Huskies recorded at least one steal, led by Strong's eight, Arnold's four and three each from Popovic and Shade. The passing was just as balanced: 10 of the 12 Huskies who played recorded an assist. The starters scored 63 points and the reserves 37.

Cornell shot 25.5 percent (14 of 55) and 5 of 35 from 3-point range. The Big Red went 2 of 2 at the line and attempted only those two free throws all night.

UConn held Cornell to single digits in three of the four quarters, per the school. The only exception was the third, when the Big Red scored 16. The fourth quarter was the most lopsided of all, 33-6, with Strong and Popovic on the bench.

Cornell's long night

Cornell never found a rhythm against the pressure. Rachel Kaus led the Big Red with eight points, making 2 of 3 from deep, before picking up four fouls. Simone Richmond and Ally Pape scored seven apiece, though Richmond went 3 of 11 from the field and committed seven turnovers. Katie Leonard added five points, and Clarke Jackson scored four.

Kelsey Langston played a team-high 25 minutes and had a team-high three assists but went scoreless with four turnovers, and Audrey Chen was 0 of 5 from 3-point range. Ashley Childers scored two on 1 of 6 shooting, and Paige Engels added two assists and a steal in 19 minutes off the bench. The Big Red took 35 of their 55 shots from beyond the arc, a sign of how hard it was to get anything closer.

Cornell hosts Fredonia on Thursday, according to the AP, a chance to reset before the rest of the nonconference schedule.

History and what came next

UConn is now 9-0 against Ivy League programs under Auriemma, according to the AP, a list that includes four NCAA Tournament wins and an 89-47 win over Cornell in the 2008 tournament.

The night also carried a quiet tribute. Fans left flowers at the seat of Carl Adamec, the longtime UConn beat writer who died in August, the AP reported. Adamec covered the program through Auriemma's first 41 seasons.

The opener was the easy part of the early schedule. UConn's next four games all came against AP Top 20 teams, per the school, starting at No. 5 Michigan on Thursday, Nov. 5. That one did not go UConn's way: Michigan won 77-66 and ended a 39-game streak, as covered here on Undrafted. The Huskies answered three days later with a 91-79 win over No. 10 Iowa behind a career-high 39 from Strong.

On opening night, though, the Huskies looked every bit like a team ranked second in the country, with a deep rotation, a freshman class that contributed right away and the reigning National Player of the Year doing a little of everything.

Sources: ESPN, AP, UConn Athletics.

Photo: UConn Athletics.