Mohegan — UConn forward Morgan Tuck has experience playing for Florida State coach Sue Semrau, stemming from both their associations with USA Basketball.

“She was such an energetic coach. She was always teaching us to have energy, be passionate. She has such a love for the game,” Tuck said.

That's what it took, too, for the top-ranked UConn women's basketball team to topple Semrau and No. 11 Florida State on Friday night in the Hall of Fame Women's Challenge before 8,157 fans at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Energy. Specifically on defense.

UConn forced 26 Florida State turnovers, registering 17 steals. The Seminoles turned the ball over on three of their first four possessions and allowed UConn 13 points off turnovers in the first half alone when it was still a 14-point game.

UConn won 73-49 to cap its first semester at 8-0, playing three ranked opponents in the last nine days in No. 23 DePaul, No. 3 Notre Dame and Florida State. The Huskies resume their season Dec. 21, following a break for exams, facing LSU at the XL Center.

UConn had given up nine or more 3-point field goals, a total of 35, over the last three games, necessitating the lockdown on defense if the Huskies were to have much peace of mind during the pause for exams.

“We're finishing very well,” said Tuck, who led UConn in scoring with 18 points. “The last three games, the coaches have been very upset because we keep giving up so many 3s. The last three games it wasn't very positive. This made a turnaround.”

“It cost us everything,” Semrau said of the first-half turnovers. “It was a relatively even game the first half except they had 13 points off turnovers.”

Breanna Stewart added 16 points, seven assists, six blocked shots, five steals and five rebounds for UConn, which won its 45th straight game. Moriah Jefferson had 15 points, four assists and four steals and Kia Nurse 14 points and four assists.

The Huskies played shorthanded, missing Saniya Chong (knee) and Natalie Butler (thumb) due to injury and getting just three minutes from freshman Katie Lou Samuelson, who has not been feeling well.

Freshman G/F Napheesa Collier played 32 minutes in her first career start and had a team-best seven rebounds, with UConn coach Geno Auriemma choosing to bring Gabby Williams off the bench. Williams, a sophomore guard, started the Huskies' first eight games.

Florida State (7-2) outrebounded UConn 37-24 and had 14 offensive rebounds to three for the Huskies. Shakayla Thomas had 16 points off the bench for the Seminoles, who Auriemma called one of the better defensive teams in the country.

“It was a different kind of game tonight than Notre Dame (91-81 win), just completely different,” Auriemma said. “We knew it wasn't going to be up and down and score 100. We accomplished a lot of things tonight. … To be at the end of the stretch we've had … we've seen just about everything there is to see.”

Semrau, who along with Auriemma had to climb the postgame interview podium with no stairs, generating a few laughs, said it is UConn's decision-making that helps distinguish it (the Huskies are 8-0 all-time against Florida State and 8-0 at Mohegan Sun).

“I was watching film and I would want to see how long the ball would stay in their hand,” Semrau said of the Huskies. “One one-thousand. Boom. At least let me get to two.”

UConn led 22-14 after the first quarter on a fall-away jump shot at the buzzer by Jefferson, who became the 10th player in program history to record her 500th career assist during the game. Collier also had six points in the first quarter.

The Huskies then started the third quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers by Stewart and Tuck to push the lead to 14. UConn maintained that margin at the half, leading 37-23 behind nine points each from Tuck, Stewart and Jefferson.

“It hasn't been very easy and we've been traveling a lot,” said Jefferson, asked to assess the first eight games for the three-time defending national champions. “It has been a tough stretch.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com

Twitter: @vickieattheday