It is officially March which means let all the chaos and madness commence. The SXU Women’s basketball team found out last Friday that the craziness of March even rubs off on February.
The team entered the CCAC tournament quarterfinals last Wednesday against Calumet College of Saint Joseph in front of the home audience.
The Cougars got off to great start in the tournament by routing the overmatched visitors by the final score of 64-42 in their last home appearance this season.
SXU held only a 34-25 edge at halftime but a 16-1 run to start the second half blew the game wide open.
An incredible defensive effort was put in by the Cougars shutting down the CCSJ offense limiting them to just 27 percent shooting for the game and only 17 second half points. SXU also dominated the glass finishing with 56-31 edge in rebounding.
Junior guard Suzie Broski was the leading scorer for the Cougars finishing with 18 points on 9-for-18 shooting from the floor.
Junior forward Morgan Stuut ended up with 12 points, five assists and pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds.
Freshmen guard Sidney Prasse was instant offense off the bench putting up 13 points and going 3-for-6 from beyond the arc.
After dispatching CCSJ it was off to semifinals in Hammond, Ind. to take on Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.).
The Cougars and Tigers competed hard in a dramatic thriller but a late jumper and a resilient Tigers team ended the Cougars conference championship hopes and dreams.
SXU lost a hard fought game, which saw them lead by as many as 17 points at one point, 91-89.
The loss eliminated the Cougars from the CCAC tournament and now they must wait and hope for an at-large bid to the NAIA National Tournament.
The team played excellent basketball in the first half especially offensively shooting a scorching 56 percent from the field en route to a 54-47 halftime lead but they struggled in the second half shooting just 37 percent from the floor.
The game became a nail bitter in the second half as the Tigers clawed their way back.
It boiled down to big plays being made in the last few possessions of the contest.
Senior guard Miranda Geever gave the Tigers a two point lead with about 15 seconds left to play in the game.
Stuut had a response scoring a lay-up with seven seconds left in the game to knot the score up at 89.
Geever would have one final answer by hitting a running jumper with time expiring to send the Tigers into a cheerful roar and reduce the Cougars to a disappointing silent whimper.
Stuut led the Cougars in defeat finishing with 33 points, 15 rebounds, and six assists for her 24th double-double of the season.
Stuut continued to shatter records finishing the year with 667 points breaking the single season record of 646 held by former star player Erin Hannemann.
Broski had 27 points in the defeat while senior guard Niara Harris came off the bench to chip in 13 points on the evening.
Even though the Cougars were eliminated from the CCAC Tournament they received some good news on Saturday.
Suzie Broski was named to the 2013-2014 All-CCAC Women’s Basketball Honorable mention team.
She averaged almost 15 points a game on 53 percent shooting from the field.
Morgan Stuut won her second consecutive CCAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year award for her tremendous play this season.
She averaged 21.6 points which was second in the conference and her 2.9 steals per game was also good for second in the conference.
Stuut has also become known as a rebounding machine in her college career.
She finished the season with 24 double-doubles, surpassed 1,000 career rebounds, and had 414 rebounds this season making her the only SXU women’s basketball player to ever have more than 400 rebounds in a season.
Based on their top 25 ranking the team will probably earn an at-large bid to the 32-team NAIA tournament in Sioux City, Iowa.
The Cougars did not come out successful in the conference tournament but they will look to regroup and compete for the biggest prize of them all a national title.
Damone Griffin
Sports Editor
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