Storrs — Prior to the game, UConn coach Geno Auriemma and good friend Doug Bruno of DePaul stood with their arms draped around each other at center court, where they received rings from USA Basketball for the U.S. women's basketball team's gold medal-winning performance this summer in Rio.

Auriemma was the head coach for the Americans, Bruno his assistant.

Then, quite unexpectedly, according to Auriemma, No. 2 UConn flipped the script on Bruno and his usually high-scoring DePaul team, leading 37-6 after one quarter and finishing with a 91-46 victory Thursday night at Gampel Pavilion, the Huskies' 81st win in a row.

UConn's protagonist: Kia Nurse, who finished with a career-high 33 points on 12 of 16 shooting.

“They could have a 3-second shot clock the way Doug likes to play,” said Auriemma, referencing No. 15 DePaul's 89.2 points per game average entering the game. “I don't know they were expecting us to run on them the way we did. They do that to other people.

“We played with a little bit more of a purpose defensively. That got us out and running."

Nurse led the front of the fast break on three straight possessions two and a half minutes into the first quarter for the Huskies (6-0), prompting a DePaul timeout.

For Nurse, a junior who was the American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year, it was a breakout performance. Nurse was averaging just 9.8 points per game before Tuesday, shooting 30.2 percent.

This time, things seemed to come easily, perhaps due to her three easy layups to start. Nurse had 24 points at halftime, already eclipsing her career high of 22. She finished 6-for-9 from 3-point range.

“I think I came into this game and said I was going to do the little things I'm good at and running the floor is one of those things,” said Nurse, also an Olympian this summer as a player for Team Canada.

“I had a great coaching moment,” Auriemma said of Nurse. “Today at shootaround she missed five, six, seven in a row. I told her either make 'em or stop shooting, period. If you're fighting yourself all the time, you can't be good.”

It was the beginning of a December for UConn — missing national player of the year Breanna Stewart as well as two other WNBA first-round draft picks from last season's team — which includes games against DePaul, No. 14 Texas (Sunday at Mohegan Sun Arena), No. 1 Notre Dame (Dec. 7), No. 9 Ohio State (Dec. 19) and No. 5 Maryland (Dec. 29).

And it followed Tuesday's game against Chattanooga at the XL Center in Hartford, an 80-43 victory for the Huskies, but not an aesthetically pleasing one with Chattanooga making six 3-point field goals.

That gave Auriemma a migraine entering the game against DePaul, which led all of Division I with an average of 13.5 3-pointers per game. The Blue Demons, picked at the top of the Big East Conference to start the year, set a school record with 19 3s in a win over Syracuse on Nov. 27. DePaul's season low for 3-pointers was eight.

DePaul, though, was 2-for-14 in the first quarter against UConn, 1-for-7 from 3-point range. Overall, the Blue Demons shot 17-for-68 (25 percent), 7-for-40 from 3 (17.5 percent).

“We made more 3s than they did. I didn't expect that going in,” Auriemma said.

Auriemma said he gave his team a lesson in UConn history prior to the game, telling the players that competing at Gampel Pavilion — home of the team which boasts 11 national championships — should mean playing with pride. Auriemma watched the pregame video trumpeting the Huskies and commented to assistant coach Marisa Mosely.

“I said, 'Man, I remember when they used to play this thing and we'd come out and be up 15-0,'” Auriemma said, “Sure as hell, the first quarter was exactly that.”

Napheesa Collier added 18 points and four steals for UConn, Katie Lou Samuelson had 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Gabby Williams seven assists.

Kelly Campbell scored 10 points for DePaul (5-2). Jessica January, DePaul's leading scorer coming in with 18.5 points per game, was held to six points, finishing 0-for-7 from 3.

v.fulkerson@theday.com