Mohegan — UConn scored 105 points during a regular-season trip to Cincinnati late last month. In case there was any question as to why, the Huskies resumed that high-scoring pace Monday night against the Bearcats, who were still trying to run down their opponents.

"We love to get up and down," UConn junior Megan Walker said. "A lot of teams choose to go that route and play fast against us. It really helps us."

For one final time Monday, the UConn women's basketball team left its undeniable imprint on the American Athletic Conference, winning its seventh straight league tournament title and finishing its tenure of sheer dominance in the league with the top-ranked Huskies sprinting to an 87-53 victory over No. 3 Cincinnati before 5,430 fans at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The number of consecutive league wins kept climbing until it landed Monday on 139, with the Huskies leaving the AAC after this season to rejoin the Big East Conference.

One hundred thirty-nine wins, zero losses in seven seasons in the AAC.

"Being in a new conference, we didn't really know what to expect from all the teams that were going to be in the league," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said, asked to reflect on the unbeaten mark in the AAC, including both the regular season and the postseason tournament. "We just had to play the same every day. The obvious factor is our players are really, really good. It's just part of who we are.

"We're not arrogant thinking we deserve to win every game. We just prepare. We don't change anything for any team. That's the biggest consistency. Our approach."

Walker, named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, had 26 points and seven rebounds for UConn (29-3), which was playing just one day after losing senior captain Kyla Irwin for the season due to an elbow injury sustained Sunday. Irwin fractured her left elbow during a fall in the tournament semifinals and underwent surgery Monday.

Christyn Williams had 22 points and eight rebounds, Crystal Dangerfield 14 points and eight rebounds and Olivia Nelson-Ododa 11 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Huskies. Anna Makurat led the team with eight assists.

Angel Rizor finished with 16 points for Cincinnati (22-10), Antoinette Miller 15 and IImari'I Thomas 14.

Williams, Dangerfield and freshman Aubrey Griffin (15 points, 16 rebounds in UConn's opening game of the tournament) earned all-tournament honors, along with Walker, as did Cincinnati's Thomas and Rizor.

It was UConn's 16th straight league tournament final, dating back to nine in row in the Big East Conference before joining the AAC prior to the 2013-14 season.

Coming into the game, the Huskies had outscored their opponents by an average of 83.9-49.5 in the AAC tournament.

"I would say it's not a lot of pressure. It's more of a pride thing," UConn's Walker said of the clean sweep in the AAC. "We wanted to get it done for our coach and the people that came before us. It's what we do. It's understood."

"We played some of our best basketball during these last three days," said Auriemma, who noted he was pleased to see his players celebrate during the postgame ceremony, tossing red, white and blue confetti the way they would if they engaged in a snowball fight. "... It wasn't easy at all. This one took a lot of work. They should celebrate. They should. I'm glad they enjoyed it. I'm glad they had fun."

UConn quite enjoyed the pace of the game, akin to a track meet, racing to a 48-26 lead at halftime.

Walker and Williams had 15 points each at the half and Nelson-Ododa 10 rebounds. The Huskies led 19-15 after one quarter, then scored the first six points of the second quarter, getting a drive from Williams, who went untouched to the basket for a 25-15 lead.

UConn outscored Cincinnati 29-11 in the second quarter, going on a 9-0 run sparked by a three-point play from Nelson-Ododa. The Huskies ended the second with an over-the-head layup from Dangerfield and a steal and a layup by Williams.

Walker heated up (even further) in the third quarter with 11 points, the final basket coming on a leaner in the lane.

The Huskies led 62-34 by the television timeout with 4 minutes, 47 seconds left in the quarter, followed by a 3-pointer from Walker and fast break layup by Dangerfield to make it 67-34 and precipitate a Cincinnati timeout just 29 seconds later.

UConn closed the third with a flying putback by the 5-foot-5 Dangerfield to give the Huskies a 71-42 advantage.

"Just give a lot of credit to UConn," said Cincinnati coach Michelle Clark-Heard, whose team was making its first AAC championship appearance. "UConn is a great team. Normally, we change up defenses and do a lot of different things. With them you can't because they'll make you pay, everybody can score."

Clark-Heard said she will miss having the chance to take on UConn next season.

"Hey, if you're a competitor, you always want to play against the best," the coach said. "We just want to keep getting better and better so we can be in a position to compete with the best.

"The conference has a lot of great coaches and a lot of great teams. Now we have to figure out what our identity is going to be and where we're going to go with the conference."

v.fulkerson@theday.com