Fairfield entered its game against Connecticut as the top defensive team in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
However, the Stags hadn't played a team anywhere near as good as the second-ranked Huskies. Fairfield couldn't handle the upgrade in competition, falling 93-40 to UConn on Thursday night.
''Half of my concern going into this game was that `Deer in the headlights' look that a lot of teams get when they come in here,'' Fairfield coach Joe Frager said. ''And I thought we had that for maybe the first couple minutes.''
While the Stags were stunned, UConn center Stefanie Dolson scored 14 of her team's first 16 points on her way to total of 22. Tiffany Hayes added 23 points for the Huskies (11-1).
Desiree Pina had 12 points to lead the Stags (7-4), who had won four straight games prior to Thursday.
''We did our best for 40 minutes. We battled,'' said Frager, a 1984 UConn graduate. ''They're an exceptional team. No one plays any harder, no one's any more well-coached than they are.''
Dolson, who made 11-of-13 shots from the floor, proved too much for Fairfield to handle.
''Oh my gosh, yes,'' Frager said. ''Our coaching staff can keep saying `Don't let Dolson get two feet in the paint.' But they're kind of looking at me like `Coach, I'm really trying. I'm throwing my 160 against her and it's just not really cutting it right now.' "
Brianna Banks and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis added 12 points each for the victors.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma wasn't particularly pleased with his team's performance in its last game - a 48-point thrashing of the College of Charleston in South Carolina. But after an eight-day break for the holidays, he was extremely happy with Thursday's 53-point blowout.
The coach's opinion was partly shaped by the resurgent Dolson. She had scored a total of 24 points in her previous four games before Thursday.
''She's been struggling a little bit,'' Auriemma said. ''She's a pretty prideful kid and she wants to be really good. And I think she sees it as `Well, I did this last year so this year I'm supposed to do this.' And when it wasn't happening for her I think she got a little frustrated.''
With Dolson controlling play in the paint, the Huskies raced to an 8-0 lead. Although the Stags clawed back to get within two points at 10-8, UConn ran off another 12 straight points to firmly seize control. Dolson scored the first six of the latter run, which ended when a Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis 3-pointer made it 22-8 Huskies.
''I'm pleased with the way I played,'' said Dolson, who left the game with 13:48 still on the clock and did not return. ''I think I demanded the ball a lot more inside, I finished pretty well tonight. The guards did a great job of getting me the ball.''
The home team's lead only ballooned from there, quickly reaching 20 and nearly getting to 30 before the halftime break. UConn led 49-20 at the half, having already forced Fairfield into 14 turnovers and gained a 21-5 advantage in rebounds.
It was more of the same in the second half for the Huskies, who went on a 12-2 run behind Hayes and soon boosted their lead above the 40-point plateau.
The Huskies have won eight straight games against their in-state rivals, though this was the first meeting between the schools since the 2001-02 season.
During a halftime ceremony UConn's 2002 national championship team were inducted as Huskies of Honor. Among those in attendance for the festivities Thursday were Sue Bird, Maria Conlon and Svetlana Abrosimova.
