DURHAM -- With irrepressible efficiency and defensive aplomb, the No. 3 Connecticut women's basketball team delivered another disappointing loss to Duke on Monday night - its fifth consecutive against the Blue Devils.
The Huskies (20-2), as they had twice last year, defeated the No. 5 Blue Devils (17-3) by executing basketball fundamentals at the highest level and chipping away for a 61-45 victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils, playing in front of a raucous crowd and nationally televised audience, put up a fight, yet there was little they could do as Geno Auriemma's bunch kept working for rebounds, kept closing out on shooters and kept converting opportunities.
Meanwhile, the Blue Devils got away from what has worked offensively this season as the team has averaged 76.9 points per game. They finished with eight assists and failed to move the ball with the fluidity that has marked previous victories.
"I'm very disturbed by that eight assists," Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "We were too one-on-one oriented, and we paid a price for that."
The Blue Devils, McCallie said, took too many random shots and didn't get to the free throw line often enough. They rushed, too.
"We just didn't reverse the basketball," she said. "You've got to penetrate, kick, get the ball to the other side of the floor. I'm not sure I can find a ball reversal in the entire film."
UConn sophomore guard Bria Hartley, a source of frustration for the Blue Devils throughout, finished with a game-high 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds. The Huskies snapped their opponent's 34-game homecourt winning streak.
Every time the Blue Devils, who displayed plucky defense, mounted a comeback, the Huskies knocked them back.
Early in the second half, Duke cut UConn's lead to 34-29 and appeared headed for an improbable victory after falling behind 14 points in the first half.
But machine-like, the Huskies turned things around, overcoming their mistakes - and they made plenty with 21 turnovers - to go on a run.
This time it was a run built on sharp-shooting.
UConn freshman Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis started it with a 3-pointer with 13 minutes, 15 seconds remaining. Sophomore guard Bria Hartley followed with a jumper, pump-faking to free herself.
On the Huskies' next possession, junior guard Caroline Doty spotted up in the corner for a 3-pointer - one she hit falling out of bounds and with a hand in her face. Junior Kelly Faris drained a jumper, followed by a another 3-pointer from Mosqueda-Lewis.
In all, it was a 14-4 spurt by the Huskies that put them far enough ahead to hold off the Blue Devils.
In addition, the Huskies, who shot 45.1 percent from the field, converting 7 of 18 3-point attempts, held the Blue Devils without a field goal for nearly 12 minutes during the second half. Plus, they received a 12-rebound, five-block performance from freshman reserve Kiah Stokes.
"This was a great defensive game for us tonight," UConn coach Auriemma said. "We think we're the best defensive team in the country and the kids buy into that. The effort was unbelievable."
Duke has not defeated UConn since a 63-61 overtime victory in the NCAA tournament on March 28, 2006.
In previous games, the Huskies have thumped the Blue Devils, including a 75-40 dismantling in last season's NCAA tournament.
Duke's younger players closed the gap Monday with a hustling style of defensive basketball, though McCallie said they were immature offensively.
Three Duke players finished in double figures: sophomore point guard Chelsea Gray (13 points, six assists and six steals), sophomore forward Richa Jackson (11) and freshman Elizabeth Williams (10).
Sophomore Haley Peters, who fouled out, finished with nine points and nine rebounds. She said the team played well in spurts.
"You need to play a team like that for 40 minutes," Peters said.
