The great streak is finally over. And going with it, in a small sense, is Stanford’s heartbreak.

Entering Thursday’s game, a 71-59 victory for Stanford over goliath Connecticut (12-1), the No. 1 Huskies had won 90 consecutive games, including two straight national championships. It was the longest winning streak in the history of NCAA Division I basketball, narrowly beating the 88-game mark set by the UCLA men’s team from 1971-1974 under former Bruin head coach John Wooden.

That is, until Jeanette Pohlen launched the No. 9 Cardinal (9-2) into cruise control over the Huskies at Maples Pavilion on Thursday. The senior guard posted a career-high 31 points. She kick-started the offense with a game-opening three-pointer, and the Cardinal never gave up that lead. Pohlen’s performance was the highlight of a feel-good victory for Stanford, which had fallen to Connecticut in the Final Four in two consecutive appearances.

The game was no doubt marked on Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer’s calendar before the season began; the last meeting of the coast-to-coast rivals was in the 2010 national championship game, which VanDerveer’s Cardinal seemed to have in control before falling to the Huskies, 53-47.

“It’s not a national championship,” she said. “But this was a great night for us, and we’re excited.”

The Cardinal jumped out early on the Huskies, building its lead as high as 13 points in the opening frame. Connecticut showed resilience, though, posting an 11-2 run to pull within 34-30 at the end of the half.

But that was as close as Connecticut would come. With leading scorer Maya Moore going just 5-for-15 with 14 points-including a scoreless 16 minutes to open the game-the Huskies couldn’t keep up as Stanford reignited its offense in the second half. Moore, who posted a game-high 23 points against the Cardinal in last year’s national championship, has averaged 24.8 points per game this season.

“She’s human,” VanDerveer said.

Speaking for herself, Moore gave credit to Stanford’s size and assertiveness.

“They played a physical game against us. It was that simple,” she said.

It didn’t help that Pohlen scored a pair of threes in the first 10 minutes of the second half, helping Stanford push its lead back up to a comfortable 55-44. Down the stretch, Pohlen closed out the rally-savvy Huskies with six free throws in the last 42.5 seconds of the game.

As impressive as her career-best effort was, Pohlen wasn’t alone in putting up big offensive numbers on Thursday. Junior forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike had a solid performance of her own with 12 points, while senior forward Kayla Pedersen added 11 more.

However, it was Stanford’s punishing defensive work that hurt the Huskies most. The Cardinal held Connecticut to just 20-for-61 shooting, good for only 32.8 percent. Stanford was more efficient, scoring 25 field goals on 55 shots.

While the win will certainly be remembered most for shutting down Connecticut’s record-breaking streak, it has some added significance for the Stanford faithful. In killing the streak, Stanford showed that it could still dance with UConn after being the last team to defeat the Huskies, eliminating them from the 2008 postseason with an 82-73 victory.

The Cardinal also pushed a streak of its own-for consecutive home wins-up to 52 with the victory.

And it certainly felt like a home game. Despite students being mostly off campus, Maples Pavilion was packed with a sellout crowd of 7,329, all eager to see the nationally televised rematch of last year’s top two squads in person. After the victory, VanDerveer and Pohlen both stepped back onto the court to thank the crowd.

VanDerveer was sure to congratulate Connecticut and head coach Geno Auriemma for their record-breaking streak, but for her, the focus of Thursday’s outcome was a little different.

“I’m just happy for our team,” she said. “The streak is something that they did. We’re about Stanford and what we want to do.”

After a stunning finish to its non-conference season, Stanford will have to stay tough as it seeks an 11th straight Pac-10 title. With the playoffs coming afterward, the Cardinal may meet up with the Huskies once more.