The Northland Pines girls basketball team lost its first game of the season after 16 straight wins, falling to Medford 56-50 in a Great Northern Conference (GNC) game.

“We still are tied for the lead in the GNC and just need to stay the course,” said Pines coach Larry Bergum. “There’s a lot of basketball left and the remainder of the year will be very exciting to watch.”

The Eagles are 16-1 overall and 8-1 in conference play, tied with Medford for first place. Pines beat the Raiders by 14 points the first time around.

“This loss was