Coach Geno Auriemma always preached that championships are what his Connecticut Huskies chase, not streaks.

With UConn’s NCAA-record 90-game run over, Auriemma can get back to his primary goal — winning a third straight national title.

“It’s where we go from here that will define this team more than the 90 wins,” Auriemma said. “How we play going forward will be this team’s defining moment. The 90 wins just belonged to a few of these guys. What happens for the rest of the season will belong to them. And I am excited about that.”

Star Maya Moore, who has been the constant for UConn throughout the streak, looked ordinary for one of the rare times in her career. The school’s all-time scoring leader was held to 14 points by Stanford’s suffocating defense in Thursday night’s 71-59 loss. She settled to shoot 3-pointers — taking 11 of them — even when Auriemma pleaded with her to take it to the basket.

No doubt she’ll use this as motivation, just as she did the last time her team was beaten — 998 days ago in the NCAA semifinals by Stanford.

Auriemma was disappointed by the loss, but hardly distraught, cracking jokes in the post game news conference.

“This losing stuff is getting old, I hate it,” he said. “I just wish we could catch a break every once in a while so these kids can have some success.”

He will have ample time to break down the Stanford game and point out to his players every error they made.

“When we show the mistakes to them again, it will mean a lot more this time because now they’ll know what the result can be,” Auriemma said. “I’ve used this example before: You tell a kid don’t touch a hot stove and they don’t listen until they burn themselves. Now, they won’t touch it. You can tell kids all you want about problems, but if they never get beat.

“But now they will feel different at practice. I’m happy they’ll get to experience that and they’ll get to show a different side.”

The numbers during the unprecedented run were staggering. The Huskies won by nearly 34 points a game while allowing two teams to come within single digits. They beat ranked opponents 31 times and trailed for 134 minutes during the 90 wins.

“I think you get a better appreciation for it today, tomorrow, the next day or the next day after that,” Auriemma said.