UConn's top-ranked women's basketball team struggled to win its first game of a difficult road trip on Wednesday night, rallying in the fourth quarter for a 72-63 victory over Oklahoma.

And head coach Geno Auriemma couldn't have been happier.

"I told (the players) in the locker room they live in a fantasy world," he said. "This is the way most of the world lives. Tough games, you have to suck it up. You have to make big plays towards the end. You guys just aren't in that situation enough because you live in a make-believe world.

"(Wednesday) they lived in the real world, and I was proud of them because they got tested and came out with flying colors."

Expect the Huskies to be tested again Saturday when they visit No. 14 California at 3 p.m. in Berkeley.

It will be the final game of 2018 for UConn (10-0), which will enjoy the holiday break before resuming a four-game road trip with games in Texas against No. 6 Baylor (Jan. 3) and Houston (Jan. 6) in the Huskies' American Athletic Conference opener.

UConn, which hasn't played in Berkeley since 1991, is 4-1 all-time against the Golden Bears, including an 82-47 victory last season in Storrs. Cal is also unbeaten (9-0) and led by 6-foot-4 center Kristine Anigwe, who is averaging a double-double (23.6 points, 12.7 rebounds) and guards Kiana Smith (10.7 points) and Asha Thomas (10.0).

The Huskies, who have won 125 straight regular-season games and 57 straight non-conference games, continue to be led by senior All-Americans, Katie Lou Samuelson and Napheesa Collier. Both had double-doubles against Oklahoma — Samuelson 20 points, 11 rebounds and Collier 23 points, career-high 17 rebounds — and remain their leading scorers, Samuelson averaging 20.1 points and 7.9 rebounds, and Collier averaging 18.9 points and 10.9 rebounds.

Both also continue to move up the ranks of UConn's record book. Samuelson is second with 321 3-pointers while Collier is eighth with 198 career blocked shots and 10th with 917 rebounds. They have also moved into the top 15 in career points — Samuelson with 1,913 and Collier with 1.798.