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ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. -- North Carolina Wesleyan stunned the 16th-ranked Christopher Newport women's basketball team on Wednesday night, snapping the Captains season-opening win streak at 13. CNU fell, 69-68, in their final trip to Everett Gym in USA South action, dropping to 13-1 overall, 6-1 in league play. 

The Bishops improved to 6-8 overall, 5-2 against league foes, and snapped another long CNU winning streak. Prior to Wednesday's upset, the Captains had won 15 straight over N.C. Wesleyan, dating back to the 2004-05 season. 

The Captains led by double digits in the game, but were unable to hold off a valiant comeback from the home team. Turnovers fell the Captains, who committed 24 in the game and gave up 19 points off of giveaways.  Neither team established consistency on the offensive end of the floor and relied heavily on points created off of their opponent's mistakes. Tia Perry led all scorers with 19 points while adding nine rebounds and four steals. Her 9-10 performance from the free throw line led the way for the Captains who ended the night 31-41 from the charity stripe. Points at the line helped keep the Captains in the game during a second half where the team shot only .227 from the floor.

In the first half, Perry knocked down a pair of free-throws with 5:33 remaining to give CNU a 10-point edge, 28-18. After a pair of free-throws from Samantha Urquhart, senior Kelly Halverson drilled a three-pointer to give the Captains their largest lead of the half, 31-20. The Bishops would answer the call, though, pulling back within three with 22 seconds remaining on a Derreon Cole layup. A last second bucket from Andrea Hobbs gave the Captains a 37-32 edge at the break. 

The first five minutes of the second half saw CNU build the lead back to 10 when rookie Kendra Stone converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 15:35 to go. Over the next five minutes, though, the home team would claw back with a 13-3 run to erase the lead and tie things up at 55 with 11 minutes remaining.

The score was tied eight times and the lead changed hands 14 times, the majority of which would come in the final ten minutes as the two teams battled. Neither team led by more than two points in the final 11:30 of the game. 

Junior Nicole Mitchell gave CNU a 64-62 edge with 5:02 remaining, but it would prove to be the final field goal of the game for CNU. The Bishops locked down defensively, holding the Captains to just four points the rest of the way, all from the free-throw line. Despite the struggles, CNU still led, 68-67, with one minute remaining. It was then that Courtney Small got a steal in the open court and quickly surged up the court for a fast-break layup and the lead, 69-68. CNU failed to convert on the other end and Wesleyan held on for the upset victory.

CNU got double figures from three players, led by Tia Perry with 19 points and nine rebounds. Stone added 12, to match her career-high, with three rebounds, while Camry Green chipped in 11 points and nine boards. 

The Bishops were paced by their senior leader, Urquhart, who scored 16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the game. Ne'Taih Davis added 10 points and went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line, while Monet Edwards also chipped in 10 points. N.C. Wesleyan's physical, aggressive defense forced CNU into 24 turnovers while making scoring opportunities difficult. 

The Captains suffered their first loss of the season, ending the second longest win streak to open a season in program history. It comes during the sixth game of a nine-game road swing that includes seven straight conference games away from home. CNU will look to bounce back this weekend against nationally-ranked Ferrum College on Saturday, January 19 at 2:00 pm, followed by a 2:00 pm tip on Sunday, January 20 at Maryville College.