STORRS — The pause lasted for more than 30 seconds late Tuesday. It was disturbing.

Again, UConn coach Geno Auriemma was searching for the right words — kind words — to sum up what the No. 4 Huskies have to do to improve during the final leg of the regular season. Again, he struggled to provide an accurate description.

For a long stretch following UConn's disheartening 60-56 loss to No. 8 Rutgers, Auriemma absorbed full blame for what transpired in the final seconds. The Huskies didn't deserve his compassion. In another big game, they failed to summon a big-time performance necessary to win. It's the same thing that happened against North Carolina Dec. 5 and, to a lesser degree, at Tennessee Jan 7. Players who needed to step forward didn't. Plays that needed to be made weren't.

"I'm just really disappointed in the way we came out and played the game (Tuesday)," Auriemma said. "I guess I shouldn't be in some ways, because I've said all along that this team doesn't make it easy to figure them out. And when you think you've figured them out, you really haven't. But I was just really disappointed.

"We needed more and we didn't get it. I can't explain it. I really can't. I wish I could, but I can't."

The Huskies (21-3, 10-1 Big East) are a perplexing group. They can play well enough to hold off LSU in a game they had to win and then post back-to-back gutsy wins on the road at DePaul and Louisville in a span of four days.

Yet,

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with the chance to gain the advantage over chief rival Rutgers atop the Big East standings, they failed to respond. Now they must ponder what might be consecutive years without a regular-season conference championship for the first time since the 1991-92 and '92-93 seasons.

Senior Ann Strother started 2-of-10 Tuesday before rebounding late to power UConn's comeback bid. But she was also guilty of failing to set a screen on what could have been a game-winning possession with less than 20 seconds remaining. Mel Thomas missed her first eight shots and finished 1-of-10. Charde Houston, the same player who was supposed to be so focused and locked in right now, might have played the worst game of her career (0-of-6 FG, four turnovers).

Key players make plays in key spots. All-American Cappie Pondexter and budding All-American Matee Ajavon made plays for Rutgers (18-3, 10-0). The Huskies, instead, were left talking, again, about not being on the same page and playing too fast offensively.

"I know we didn't play our 'A' game," UConn senior Barbara Turner said. "I give them credit. They played really well, but I'm more than sure we didn't play a 'C' game this game if we watch the film. We didn't do enough to win this game. But we have to deal with it. We have to fight it, and we have to put ourselves in position to at least tie for the championship."

The likelihood is that if UConn is to at least share the championship, it will have to win the rematch at Rutgers Feb. 27. But whether it can accomplish its goal is anybody's guess, especially Auriemma's.

The Scarlet Knights pounded the Huskies 76-62 at the Rutgers Athletic Center last season. The scenario could certainly repeat itself.

"We can't let this completely devastate us," Turner said. "It hurts. Don't get me wrong. But we have to accept it for what it is and move forward from it. And I'm sure Coach is going to make adjustments. He was real adamant about that. He was real adamant about saying that he was going to change some things that happened in this game to prepare us for when we play them again."