Hartford - UConn's women's basketball team has a habit of it. Causing its opponents to become flustered.

On Monday night at the XL Center that opponent was 10th-ranked Duke. Following an 83-52 UConn victory, Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie found it hard to contain her disappointment, going so far as to say that when it comes to rotating teams in and out of the Blue Devils' schedule, the Huskies may no longer make the rotation.

"I think we over-rotated this year," said McCallie, whose team has the ninth-toughest RPI in the nation. "Our schedule is too hard. This team hasn't responded. ... We don't have the hustle and fight it takes to play this schedule. We didn't even get in this game."

No. 2 UConn (10-1), which finished with all five starters in double figures against Duke, continues its schedule at 2:30 p.m. today in an American Athletic Conference matchup at East Carolina (SNY).

Coach Geno Auriemma said he's not sure why other coaches often refer to his team as playing harder than anyone else, the way McCallie did, calling her team's effort "pathetic."

"I'm not at other peoples' practices so I don't know," he said.

Auriemma said he often uses the analogy with his team of the Broadway shows he takes them to see when the Huskies make overnight trips to New York.

Say it's a Saturday and the show brought down the house.

"What the players don't realize is (the actors) did it Friday ... Thursday, Wednesday, Tuesday. When people come to watch us play, they deserve to see something they can be proud of. They have an obligation to play accordingly," Auriemma said. "... It's why when we recruit some kids, it doesn't work out for them. If kids don't fit that mold when they get here, they leave."

"I just think it's something we pride ourselves on," said junior guard Moriah Jefferson, who led the Huskies in scoring for the second game in a row with 18 points Monday. "That way, if you lose, you go down knowing you gave everything you had."

UConn forced 22 Duke turnovers with a fullcourt press, scoring 24 points as a result. The Huskies scored 17 fast break points to two for Duke, which came in with a decided height advantage, listing seven players on its roster at 6-foot-3 or more.

The Huskies made 10 3-pointers, four by Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, who now has 311 3-point field goals, just seven shy of tying Diana Taurasi's school record, three by Jefferson and three by freshman Kia Nurse.

"I think that it's self-explanatory that it's not just me," said UConn's Breanna Stewart, the reigning national player of the year. "I have some great teammates."

Today will be the first meeting between the Huskies and East Carolina. East Carolina is 9-3 overall, 0-1 in the AAC, coming off a 69-62 conference loss Sunday at South Florida. The Pirates are led by 6-2 guard/forward Jada Payne with 18.3 points per game and 6-1 forward I'Tiana Taylor with 11.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.

East Carolina is second in the nation in blocks per game with 7.6, having blocked 10 shots or more in three straight games. The Pirates are also fifth in the country with 14 steals per game, recording a season-high 21 against Fairfield in the first game of the season.

v.fulkerson@theday.com

Twitter: @vickieattheday