NEWBERRY - In a valiant effort against Wingate University, the Lady Indians failed to break the school's all-time consecutive win record as the Bulldogs handed Newberry it's first loss of the season Wednesday night.

The South Atlantic Conference opener for both teams, Wingate (9-3, 1-0 SAC) was able to fend off a feisty Newberry College (11-1, 0-1 SAC) team for a 63-55 win. Though the Lady Indians never lead, the scarlet and gray tied the game nine times. With five of those tie scores coming in a 6:20 span in the second half, Newberry could not tip the scales.

With the score deadlocked at 50-50 with 4:44 remaining in the game, Wingate's 6-2 center Emily Paffrath drew the fourth foul on Newberry's Monica Alexander and made a pair of free throws to start an 11-5 Bulldog run to end the game.

Despite the first loss of the season, a gritty Newberry team persevered through foul trouble.

Junior guard Monica Alexander led all scorers with 20 points, in spite of her four fouls, on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. The Norcross, Ga. native sparked the offense for Newberry in the first half when she converted a miraculous lay-up with her right hand while tumbling down to the hardwood at the 7:24 mark.

Alexander was perfect at the free throw line as well, netting all six attempts. As a team Newberry shot nearly 88 percent from the charity stripe, converting on 14-or-17 chances.

Junior forward Tonique Frasier garnered 18 points and totaled eight rebounds along with a pair of steals.

The Lady Indians also won the turnover battle, creating 17 while yielding just nine. Newberry cashed in on 12 points of turnovers.

Wingate showed a balanced attack with four players reaching double-digits in points. Guard Tanetra Barrett finished with 16 points and Emily Paffrath registered 12 points while also pulling down 12 rebounds.

The Lady Indians will be back in action this Saturday when Carson-Newman comes to Eleazer Arena. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.