Hartford — It was up to associate head coach Chris Dailey, subbing for head coach Geno Auriemma for the second straight game, to convey the message to the UConn women’s basketball team.

“I think many, many times CD told us to focus on the game and then worry about what we have to worry about after the game,” UConn junior Aaliyah Edwards said. “So, I think that we just went in with the mindset of just being competitive for 40 minutes and then worrying about Christmas and the holidays afterwards.”

Ninth-ranked UConn scattered for the holidays following Wednesday’s noon start against Seton Hall before 9,125 fans at the XL Center.

The Huskies left triumphantly with a 98-73 Big East victory, a third straight game from Edwards with 20-or-more points (23), the first career double-double for point guard Nika Muhl (16 points, 11 assists) and 30 assists on 38 field goals.

UConn will reconvene on Christmas Day due to its post-holiday schedule. The Huskies (9-2, 2-0) travel to Creighton for a Big East matchup with the No. 21 Bluejays on Dec. 28.

UConn was down to seven players due to injuries for a Dec. 11 loss at No. 20 Maryland but is now back to nine with the addition of Muhl and Dorka Juhasz and has consecutive victories to its credit over Florida State and Seton Hall (9-4).

Against Seton Hall, Edwards and Muhl had doubles figures along with Caroline Ducharme (16), Lou Lopez Senechal (14), Aubrey Griffin (13) and Juhasz (10 points, 11 rebounds).

“I thought they showed great maturity to come out and play the way they did,” said Dailey, who said the Huskies had a brief walk-through Wednesday morning in lieu of a shootaround.

“Even more so the second half. Against Florida State (85-77 win), we came out like that, we were up, we had a big lead at halftime, then we kind of took our foot off the pedal and the second half was what it was. I thought today, the second half we showed the same kind of aggressiveness we did in the first, which kept the pace, kept the aggressiveness, kept the score at a pretty good clip.”

UConn got its first points on a 3-pointer from Muhl just 18 seconds in. Muhl hit three 3s in the first quarter, while the Huskies were 5-for-7 from long range.

Muhl hit another in the second quarter, giving her a career-high four 3-pointers and Ducharme had eight points in the frame, with a 3-pointer and a layup off the front end of a fast break, giving her 13 at the half.

UConn led 53-31 at halftime.

Edwards unleashed a string of seven straight points in the third quarter, including a three-point play, as the Huskies pushed the lead to as many as 33 after a pair of free throws by Edwards.

Edwards had a career-high 25 points against Maryland, then followed that with 26 versus Florida State before Wednesday’s 23-point effort. Edwards is averaging 17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.

“I think that it starts in practice,” Edwards said. “We’ve done a lot of different things offensively, just being able to kind of flow and have a lot of options. I think I’m just feeling comfortable in different spaces of the floor, just trying to embrace being kind of like a versatile player.”

The Huskies are still missing leading scorer, Azzi Fudd, a sophomore, who is out 3-6 weeks with a right knee injury suffered Dec. 4 in a loss at Notre Dame.

Dailey, asked if Fudd was close to being available, said: “That’s not my pay grade. ... I do know her rehab is going well. I know she looks good in the things she’s doing but where she stands, that’s up to our medical staff. It’s not something that you rush.”

Dailey, 15-0 in games she has filled in for Auriemma during the duo’s 37 years at UConn, said Auriemma spoke to the team before the game via FaceTime and is feeling better.

“This is a great time for everybody, I think, starting with coach all the way down,” Dailey said. “I think it’s a great time just to get away and be able to spend time with your family.”

“I think it’s just a good way to recharge,” Edwards said. “We’re obviously still not complete with Azzi being out but I think that we’ve kind of gotten over that hump where we’re back in our groove and back to doing the things that are up to our standards and up to our expectations. I think that coming from the break we’re going to keep feeding off that momentum and keep doing the things that we do well.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com