STORRS, Conn. (AP) — 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.
Former UConn All-American Azzi Fudd was inducted into the Huskies of Honor before the game. Fudd was the Most Outstanding Player ini the 2025 Women's Final Four after scoring 19 points against UCLA and 24 in the championship game against South Carolina. Fudd had 1687 points and 292 3-pointers while at UConn and was the No. 1 overall pick by the Dallas Wings in the 2026 WNBA Draft.
Iowa: Hosts Northern Iowa on Thursday.
UConn: Plays at No. 18 Ohio State on Thursday.
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Iowa guard Chazadi 'Chit-Chat' Wright (11) shoots over UConn guard Jovana Popovic, left, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, in Storrs, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Kyle Larson is now a three-time NASCAR champion.
Larson clinched his third Cup Series title in six years early in the 400-mile season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday.
Larson became the first back-to-back champion since Jimmie Johnson in 2010; Johnson won five in a row beginning in 2006.
The 34-year-old Larson became the 11th driver in NASCAR history with three Cup titles, joining a list that includes seven-time champs Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Johnson. Jeff Gordon has four. Lee Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough. Darrell Waltrip, Tony Stewart and Joey Logano also have three.
Larson was the overwhelming favorite to hoist the Bill France Cup in Homestead long before the green flag dropped.
He entered the weekend with a 67-point lead over Christopher Bell and needed only nine points to wrap up the title. He got one point for starting the race and earned seven more by finishing fourth in the opening stage. But because Bell didn't win the stage, there was no way for him to catch him the rest of the day.
Larson put himself in position for his latest title with a historic postseason, dubbed NASCAR’s Chase for the championship. He ended a 51-race winless skid by winning three of the previous nine playoff events and finished in the top 10 in eight of them.
He enjoyed a similar finish while winning it all in 2021, his first season at powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports. He won four of the last five races — including the finale at Phoenix Raceway — while still dealing with questions about how his time ended at Chip Ganassi Racing.
His second title came in stunning fashion last year at Phoenix. He took advantage of a late caution — his crew put on two new tires instead of four — and leaped sentimental favorite Denny Hamlin on pit road with two laps to go. Hamlin didn’t have enough time to catch Larson.
Larson’s third title was far less shocking. Securing the title was so much of a slam dunk that Larson was the only Cup driving invited to NASCAR’s championship media day Thursday, leading to a parade event that Larson called awkward.
The biggest question was how Larson and his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports team would handle the pressure. Larson put that to rest during qualifying Saturday.
“They were debating on if a hot dog is a sandwich and if cereal is a soup,” Larson said. “So I would say they were pretty relaxed. I was surprised by all that.”
Where did Larson weigh in on the discussion?
“The hot dog is not a sandwich and absolutely cereal is not a soup,” he said.
A better question: How does Larson compare to the best drivers in motorsports history?
Parnelli Jones, Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt and Tony Stewart are widely regarded as the best of the best, guys who proved their worth by winning across varying racing series.
Jones won in sprint cars and stock cars around the same time he won the 1963 Indianapolis 500. Andretti won four IndyCar titles, the 1967 Daytona 500 and the 1969 Indianapolis 500. Foyt won four Indy 500s and the 1972 Daytona 500. Stewart won the 1997 IndyCar championship, three Cup Series titles and is currently racing dragsters at the top level, the NHRA.
Larson raced twice at the Indy 500 and has won just about dirt-racing events around the world.
He’s already in elite company with three Cup titles.
“He wins in everything he does, and they’re all completely different cars and tracks,” retired driver and current NBC Sports race analyst Jeff Burton said. “And he’s racing against the best in every discipline.”
See AP’s full auto racing coverage here
Kyle Larson (5) competes in the NASCAR Championship auto race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026 in Homestead, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Driver Kyle Larson is introduced before the NASCAR Championship auto race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026 in Homestead, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Kyle Larson films with a crew in front of the championship trophy, the Bill France Cup, during media day for the NASCAR Championship, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Palm trees rise behind a NASCAR sign as crews prepare ahead of NASCAR Championship weekend, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Kyle Larson speaks to journalists during media day for the NASCAR Championship, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
