FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- No. 9 University of Saint Francis (Ind.) upset No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan University women's basketball 62-55 tonight in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The loss is the first this season for Indiana Wesleyan and ends a 20-game win streak.

More importantly, Indiana Wesleyan and Saint Francis are now tied atop the Crossroads League with identical 8-1 records at the halfway point of league play. Indiana Wesleyan is 20-1 on the season while Saint Francis improves to 19-2.

Saint Francis led the entire game and built an eight point lead of 19-11. USF would hold an eight point lead three different times in the first half. Senior forward Paige Smith scored for the final points of the opening period as Saint Francis took a 25-20 halftime lead.

The Cougars scored on the opening possession of the second half for a 27-20 advantage. The Wildcats would then make a 9-2 run to draw even at 29-29. Sophomore guard Emma Stahl scored the first four points of the run, which would be all the scoring for her on the night, and a 3-point basket by junior guard Taylor Goshert capped the stretch. The 3 was the only one of the night for the Wildcats.

Momentum did not last for Indiana Wesleyan as Saint Francis answered with seven straight points to lead 36-29. The run stretched into a 16-2 spurt that gave Saint Francis a 45-31 lead. The 14 point cushion was the largest of the game.

Indiana Wesleyan would chip away at the deficit over the next six minutes. Senior guard Claire Ray downed two free throws to close within five at 50-45 and 5:03 left. With more than three minutes remaining Saint Francis scored in the paint to lead again by seven. Over the next minute and a half Indiana Wesleyan would score to trim the deficit to five points three different times. But each IWU score was answered on the next possession with a USF basket to push the lead back to seven.

Goshert hit one of two free throws with 1:16 remaining to close within six at 56-50. IWU could get no closer as Saint Francis connected on all six of their free throws in the final 30 seconds to secure the victory.

Smith led Indiana Wesleyan with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Ray and sophomore forward Katrina Blackmon each contributed 10 points while Goshert added eight. Ray led the team in rebounds with six as Indiana Wesleyan won the battle of the boards 29-27.

Indiana Wesleyan shot 40.5-percent (17 of 42) from the floor and was 1-of-5 from 3-points range. Saint Francis connected on 43.2-percent (19 off 44) of their shots tonight and 37.5-percent (3 of 8) from beyond the arc. USF was a perfect 15-of-15 from the foul line.

The Wildcats begin the second half of Crossroads League games on Saturday at Marian (Ind.) University. Tip-off from Indianapolis is 1 p.m. Indiana Wesleyan defeated Marian 59-42 in the league opener on November 20, 2012 in Luckey Arena.