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DAHLONEGA, GA – The North Georgia women’s basketball team suffered their first loss of the year Friday afternoon, falling 58-50 to Newberry College in Memorial Hall in non-conference action on the first day of the Chick-fil-A tip-off Classic.

The Lady Saints fall to .500 on the season at 1-1 overall, while Newberry stays perfect and improves to 2-0 on the young year.

With Newberry leading by two points with five minutes remaining in the first half, the Scarlet and Grey went on a 9-0 run, capped by a three-point play by Helen McKinney as North Georgia found themselves down 25-14 with just four minutes remaining in the half.

The Lady Saints would come right back however, closing the first period on a 10-2 run sparked by freshman guard Ieshia Alexander who poured in seven of her 10 first-half points in the final 90 seconds to pull North Georgia to within three points at 27-24 at intermission.

Newberry took control again in the second half, jumping right back out to a 10-point lead as Amy Browne knocked down a long ball to extend the lead to 34-24 with 16:04 remaining in the game.

The Lady Saints would close to within five points with 13 minutes remaining and within six points with 5:33 remaining, but North Georgia ran out of time down the stretch as Newberry held on for the 58-50 non-conference victory to cap the first day at the Chick-fil-A Tip-Off Classic.

North Georgia could not a buy a bucket from long range, going just 1-12, good for 8.3-percent, while the Lady Saints managed 29-percent from the field and 70-percent from the free throw line.

Newberry won the game from behind the arc, shooting 36-percent from long range, while going 33-percent from the field and 67-percent from the foul line.

The Lady Saints won the rebound battle 54-43, while committing 20 turnovers to Newberry’s 17. North Georgia doubled up Newberry 18-9 on the offensive boards and Newberry recorded 10 steals to eight for the home team.

Earlier in the day, Montevallo pulled away from Rollins College late to take a 56-38 victory and improve to 2-0 on the season.

The Lady Saints return to action Saturday afternoon, hosting Rollins College in Memorial Hall at 4:00 p.m. in the final game of the Chick-fil-A Classic. The final day of the tournament will kick off with Montevallo taking on Newberry at 2:00 p.m.