MARION, Ind. -- The 56-game winning streak for the Indiana Wesleyan University women?s basketball team came to a halt in a 52-49 loss to No. 7-ranked Bethel (Ind.) College on Saturday afternoon in Luckey Arena.

Bethel?s Brittany Cook drained a three-pointer from the corner with 2.6 seconds remaining in a tied ballgame to give the Pilots a 52-49 advantage.

No. 5-ranked Indiana Wesleyan attempted one last shot to try and force overtime. Freshman guard Kayla Thompson received the inbounds pass at half court. She took a dribble and threw up a prayer which landed just short of the basket.

The Wildcats? loss is the first for the program since their Sweet 16 appearance against Northwestern (Iowa) College on March 10, 2006.

The win streak is a NAIA record for women?s basketball. Southwestern Oklahoma University set the previous mark of 47 in the 1983-84 seasons.

Indiana Wesleyan opened the game on fire, scoring the game?s first nine points.

Bethel answered with the next four points to cut the Wildcat lead to 9-4. The next seven minutes of the contest had the two combatants match baskets as IWU led 17-10 with 6:28 remaining.

Bethel finally broke the trend of matching baskets with a 10-0 run over four minutes to earn their first lead of the game at 20-17. Indiana Wesleyan junior guard Andrea Fichter drilled a three-pointer on the Wildcats? next possession to tie the score 20-20. Neither team could score over the final two minutes of the half as the teams were deadlocked at intermission.

The second half was just as close as the opening half as neither team could pull away. Indiana Wesleyan gained their largest lead of the half at 29-25 with 13:51 to play. But Bethel answered with a 12-3 run to capture a 37-32 advantage with 10:23 left on the clock.

Bethel continued to lead Indiana Wesleyan, but could not push their lead to over five points until 5:19 remained. Two Pilot free throws gave Bethel the 48-41 lead. Indiana Wesleyan fought back and took advantage of free throw opportunities. After a Fichter field goal, the Wildcats connected on four free throws to claw back to a one point deficit, 48-47.

The Pilots made one of two from the charity stripe with 1:23 remaining to take a 49-47 lead, but Fichter tied the game at 49-49 with a pair of free throws with 29 seconds remaining.

Indiana Wesleyan played solid defense on Bethel as the Pilots looked to take the last shot. But after Bethel guard Nora Didrick drove to the basket, she kicked the ball out to a waiting Cook in the corner who connected on the game-winning basket.

The Wildcats were led by three players in double digits. Senior Brooke Amstutz led the way with 13 points while Kayla Thompson added 12. Fichter ended the afternoon with 10 points.

Bethel was led in scoring by senior Natalie Young with 20 points and 14 rebounds.

Indiana Wesleyan falls to 18-1 this season and 4-1 in the Mid-Central Conference. Bethel improves to 16-2 and 5-0.

The Wildcats return to action at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 16 as Indiana Wesleyan hits the road to battle Huntington (Ind.) University.