The North Country Community College women's basketball team is used to playing with the lead.

Saturday, the Saints found themselves playing from behind, and they struggled with that.

North Country scored just 14 points in the first half and couldn't recover, falling to No. 7 Mohawk Valley Community College 63-47.

The Hawks (17-3) ended the Saints' 16-game unbeaten streak that started with their season opener Nov. 5.

"We struggled to score throughout the entire game," North Country coach Jerrad Dumont said. "It's the first time we've really trailed in any game so far this year, and it really took a toll on us. I don't think we ran one set all the way through (Saturday).

The Hawks held a 22-14 lead at halftime, and the Saints' offense improved some in the second half, but it wasn't nearly enough to catch Mohawk Valley. North Country shot 22 percent from the floor Saturday, which Dumont said was the team's worst shooting day of the season. The coach added that the Hawks' defense wasn't necessarily the problem.

Jhontay Giles led Mohawk Valley with 15 points, and Stevie Ray scored 13.

"I just think we missed shots," he said. "We got a lot of open opportunities; we just didn't make shots."

Simone Roberts scored 14 points for the Saints, Shaneika Smith added 12 and Morgan Fountain had 10.

North Country will be back in action Wednesday at Clinton Community College, and Dumont thinks his team will learn from Saturday's setback.

"I think that we took a lot from this loss, and we'll be ready to go in practice this week," he said. "Look out, because I think this will fire us up."