by AJ Schlott
2/16/19 – In their final game of the season, the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) Cougars womens’ basketball team honored their two senior players in their final game of the season. Seniors Kayla Horlacher and Jessica Slomcheck both looked to end on a high note as their NCAA careers had reached the end. The Cougars would not let their seniors down, as they managed to win a nail biter over the Aurora University Spartans by a score of 77-76.
The first half of this game was a domination by the Cougars. Junior Michaela Thornton had the magic touch, scoring 20 points in the first half, a career best for her. Outscoring the Spartans by a stunning margin of 31-5, the Cougars looked as if they wanted to erase any chance of the Spartans coming anywhere close. Even senior Kayla Horlacher added to the fun, drilling two very deep threes. She would go on to finish with a career high 16 points in the game. With the halftime score at 50-20, the game looked like it was already wrapped up neatly.
The Spartans must have had one amazing pep talk in the locker room, and their second half onslaught showed that it worked. Although the Cougars, led by Horlacher, did their best to stay in the lead, the Spartans began their gradual creep back into the game. The fourth quarter; however, was dominated by Aurora University. While the second quarter was the best of the season for the Cougars, the fourth quarter proved to be one of the worst, with the women only able to tack on 7 to their narrow lead. The Spartans; however, seemed to want revenge for the first half barrage, and they put up a whopping 30 points to close out the game. With time running out; however, sophomore Sam Bloom hit two clutch free throws to give the Cougars a one point lead, and ultimately a game winner.
With this win, the Concordia University Chicago Cougars Women’s Basketball Team ended their season at 8-17 overall with an 8-12 conference record. Thank you to all the fans for their continuous support all season long, and thank you and good luck to our two seniors as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.
