During a three-game stretch in December, it all caught up to Moriah Jefferson.

In her first two seasons at UConn, Jefferson was loving life as a pass-first point guard on back-to-back national champions. There were so many dynamic offensive players on the court that it really didn't matter if she looked for her own shots.

However, following the graduation of Stefanie Dolson and Bria Hartley, it was going to be a different ballgame for the Huskies' floor leader. With four double-figure scoring games in the first six games of the season, everything looked like business as usual. Then, without warning, it all began to unravel.

In games against Notre Dame, DePaul and UCLA, Jefferson found herself caught in the place no point guard ever wants to be. She wasn't sure when to shoot and when to pass. Most of the 24 field goal attempts she hoisted up in those games happened because she felt obligated to be a scoring threat.

Jefferson, the American Athletic Conference leader in field goal percentage as a sophomore, only made five of those shots. Seems like ancient history now.

Jefferson has gone 13-for-13 from the field in the Huskies' last two games, easy victories over South Florida and Central Florida. She'll try to keep perfection alive when UConn plays at Cincinnati today (3 p.m., ESPN2).

"For me it is about taking smart shots," Jefferson said. "If it is a good shot knock it in, and if it is a bad shot don't shoot it. I think that has really helped me on the hot streak to keep my confidence up. At the beginning of the season I was second guessing myself a little bit and that was when I wasn't really knocking in the shots. Later on when I was missing some of them I thought they were still good (shots), so it was just a progression.

"Now they are going in."

While there may be few people who can understand what it's like to be in a zone like Jefferson, one of them happens to be her position coach.

Jefferson's run of 13 consecutive field goals is the longest for a UConn player since Shea Ralph, now in her seventh season as an assistant coach, made 18 in a row over a three-game span during her junior season.

"Everything she has done has been completely her," Ralph said. "She has really stepped up, tried to learn on and off the court and grow into her role. I think you are seeing that. It takes time, it is not just going to happen, but all of her work is starting to pay off. There are so many offensive options on this team, but Moriah has to be one of them."

Ralph once had a 9-for-9 shooting night and an 8-for-8 performance within the span of 37 days, so she understands what it's like to believe every shot will go in.

"Part of it is taking good shots," Ralph said. "When you are taking good shots, you are confident and you make them in practice, you feel like you are going to make them in a game. Moriah's mind is in a good place right now. She is taking the right shots; a lot of them are layups and open 3s."