UConn star Sarah Strong was named to the United States roster for the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series that will be held from May 23-24 in Marseille, France. The most experienced name on the roster is 31-year-old forward Cierra Burdick, who currently plays for Valencia Basket Club. Her presence has Strong’s mother hyped.
Burdick, Strong, Mikaylah Williams and Sahara Williams were the four names announced to represent the USA at the event.
Burdick has been playing at the top level since 2015 and has been part of two 3×3 World Cup gold medal-winning sides for the USA. Strong’s mother, Allison Feaster, is looking forward to seeing her daughter learn from such an experienced hooper during the tournament.
On Wednesday, Feaster reposted the roster on her Instagram stories and captioned it:
“Excited for this group of young talent to learn from Olympian @c_burdick11.”
Feaster was also a top basketball talent in her day, playing college basketball at Harvard from 1994 to 1998 before getting drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks as the fifth overall pick. She was the NCAA season scoring leader in 1997 and 1998, while the forward was also a WNBA All-Star in 2004.
Like Feaster, Burdick was also drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks in 2015 after playing for Tennessee from 2011 to 2015. However, she was cut before the season began, but was signed by the Atlanta Dream.
Burdick has represented the USA across different age grades and was part of the 3×3 team that won a bronze medal in Paris 2024.
Strong is hoping to follow that path of success. She has already won gold medals at the U18 level as a member of Team USA. Strong won the FIBA 3×3 U18 Women’s World Cup champion in 2022, 2023 and 2024. She also won a gold medal at the FIBA U18 Women’s AmeriCup in Colombia last summer.
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Strong won the NCAA title in her freshman year at UConn last season, and while she was one of the most important players on the team, Bueckers was the leader.
In an interview with CNBC Television on May 14, Strong spoke about her relationship with the former Huskies star.
“We have a really good relationship. I mean, I look up to her. She’s a really great leader,” Strong said (9:26). “It’s just like the way she carries herself with such good confidence on the court, off the court. So, just learning that confidence is really important.”
With Bueckers now in the WNBA, Strong has been touted as the next face of women’s college basketball following her performance last season.
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Edited by Akshay Saraswat
