All great things must come to an end, words that sound so cliché but still are the best way to summarize a situation.
I just wish someone gave George Lucas and the makers of Star Wars the memo but that is a whole another situation.
These words are able to perfectly sum up the end of the SXU Women’s basketball team winning streak.
They had not lost a game since Nov. 30th and were undefeated at home until all that came to an end this past Wednesday.
The team welcomed in then No. 18 ranked Purdue University Calumet for a big conference game.
It was rough sledding for the Cougars who saw their season-long 16 game winning streaked snapped at the hands of their conference rivals.
The Cougars had a hard time taking care of the ball turning it over 19 times leading to 16 points for PUC.
The Peregrines also spent a lot of time at the line going 31-for-40 compared to the Cougars who just had only 19 free throw attempts.
Junior forward Morgan Stuut came up with her 19th double-double of the season finishing with 15 point and 12 rebounds but only shot 5-for-15 from the floor.
Sophomore forward Caitlin McMahon finished with 10 points on 4-for-11 shooting and a team best 15 rebounds on the evening.
Junior guard Suzie Broski finished with 14 points and senior forward Chrissy Heine scored 10 points off the bench to go along with six rebounds for the Cougars.
SXU trailed by 11 at halftime and fought back in the second half to within five points but PUC kept denying any run made by the Cougars to win the game 84-72.
After their winning streak was snapped the Cougars had to regroup by Saturday and be ready to play on the road against Judson University in Elgin, Ill.
The team bounced back in a big way blowing out the Eagles by the final score of 90-56 on Saturday evening. It was a game that the Cougars never trailed in and led by as many as 40 points.
The Cougars did not have any troubles on offense in this game shooting 45 percent from the field and a blistering 52 percent in the second half.
Stuut finished with 24 points on 7-for-11 shooting and seven rebounds while Broski had 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting and six rebounds.
Senior guard Niara Harris was impressive off the bench finishing with 14 points on 4-for-7 shooting and three steals and McMahon chipped in 10 points and five rebounds.
The Cougars are now 22-4 overall with a 12-2 conference record in the CCAC and will look to build momentum heading towards their conference tournament which starts at the end of this month.
The lost to Purdue University Calumet was a tough especially coming at home.
The Cougars were able to bounce back though and showed why they are a mentally tough team and can win their conference this year.
Their next game is Wednesday, Feb. 12 at home against conference for Robert Morris on Bob Hallberg Court in the Shannon Center.
Come out and support the Cougars . Women’s basketball is having an incredible season so come out to see the show.
Damone Griffin
Sports Editor