UConn Huskies star Sarah Strong didn’t have a great outing in the 62-48 loss against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. However, before the game was done, there was a moment where Strong made a move out of frustration.
Struggling to score seamlessly, Strong was spotted ripping up her jersey late in the third quarter.
Why Did Sarah Strong Rip Her Jersey?
The game was slipping away from UConn, with Sarah Strong shooting terribly. She had shot 4-for-16 in the game. The jersey rip moment came right as emotions peaked during a tough stretch, when she missed a shot and reacted in frustration.
However, after the game, Strong clarified that the incident was accidental and not a deliberate act.
“It was an accident,” Strong said. “I missed my shot. Ripped it by accident.”
The jersey was bad after the attempt and she had to wear a different jersey (No. 55) to finish the game.
Meanwhile, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma pointed out that Strong’s ripped jersey was an example of the rough play style of South Carolina, and thanks to the officials, they got away with it.
“There were six fouls called in that quarter, all of them on us,” Auriemma told Rowe. “And they’ve been beating the s— out of our guys down there all game. Now I’m not making excuses because we haven’t been able to hit a shot all game. But this is ridiculous. Their coach rants and raves on the sideline and calls the referees some names you don’t want to hear. And now we get a 6-0 [foul discrepancy] and I got a kid with a ripped jersey, and they go, ‘I didn’t see it.’ Come on man, this is for the national championship.”
When Auriemma was made aware that Strong herself ripped jersey, the head coach said:
“She didn’t make a mistake. She said it was a mistake. She didn’t say she ripped her own jersey… No, I’m just saying there was not a single foul called on them in the third quarter. I have a kid that’s one of the best players in the country and has got the ball a lot and is trying to get something done, and you mean to tell me there was never a time when she got fouled? Find that hard to believe.”
It seems Auriemma was under the impression that one of the South Carolina players ripped the jersey. Nonetheless, the ripped jersey was evidence enough that UConn was really struggling and that frustration was coming out in different ways.
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