BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Northampton women's basketball team dropped their first game back after semester break, falling to Lehigh Carbon, 67-56 on Thursday evening at the Arthur L. Scott Center.

The loss was Northampton's first-ever defeat in the Eastern Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (EPAC), since the conference began in 2012, a run of 32 straight victories. 

The Spartans never led after the 9 minute mark of the first half, falling behind by as many as 14 in the second half.  "We simply got outplayed," stated Head Coach Tara Belfield, "our effort on the defensive end was severely lacking and offensively you are not going to win many games when you commit 32 turnovers. ... credit Lehigh Carbon, they came ready to play and earned the victory."

Lehigh Carbon scored 28 points off Northampton turnovers and knocked down 6 three-pointers in the victory. 

Deana McKeller (East Stroudsburg, PA/E. Stroudsburg South) led Northampton with 12 points, as all seven Spartans scored.  McKeller added a team-high 8 rebounds, while Kaitlyn Cappetta (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth) dished out 9 assists. 

The loss drops Northampton to 10-3 overall, 8-1 in Region XIX and 4-1 in EPAC play. 

LCCC improves to 9-10 overall, 5-5 in Region XIX and 5-4 in the EPAC. 

The Spartans return to action on Saturday when they host Ocean County College at noon.