OMAHA, Neb. – Saturday's loss was a tough one to handle for the College of Saint Mary Flames.

The Flames suffered a devastating 64-60 defeat to league-leading Morningside University. The Mustangs entered the game ranked No. 8 in the country and CSM had them on the ropes late in the game Saturday.

The lead changed six times and was tied four times. The score was tied 53-53 with just three minutes remaining and the Flames trailed by just one point with two minutes to go. But six made free throws by the Mustangs helped the visitors clinch the win.

"I think we are definitely disappointed because we had an opportunity to knock off the top team in the league," CSM Coach Kirk Walker said. "But, overall, we did a great job. Morningside is averaging over 80 points per game so defensively I thought we did a really good job."

The Flames shot 47 percent in the game, were 27 percent from 3-point range and 47 percent from the free-throw line. The Mustangs shot only 31 percent from the floor, 34 percent from long distance and 100 percent from the charity stripe.

College of Saint Mary had two players with double-doubles. Sidney Anderson (FR/Omaha, Neb.) had a career-high 19 points and 11 rebounds and teammate Alyssa Marsh-Contreras (JR/Omaha, Neb.) tallied 12 points and 10 assists. Madelyn Turner (JR/Bennington, Neb.) and Honnah Leo (SO/Omaha, Neb.) both tossed in eight points and Leo also pulled down seven boards.

"Contreras played a really, really good game," Walker said. "I thought that was one of the best games Honnah has played lately. And, of course, Sid just had a monster game."

Sierra Mitchell, one of the best players in the Great Plains Athletic Conference, had a game-high 22 points, while teammate Chloe Lofstrom (14) and Sophia Peppers (12) also scored in double figures.

"I though we just lost track of Mitchell too much in the first half," Walker said. "And they just have so many weapons. They also had 16 offensive boards and I thought that was a big factor."

Walker thought positives for the Flames were getting the ball inside, sharing the ball (CSM had 19 assists) and doing a good job of handling Morningside's pressure.

With the loss, CSM drops to 5-11 in the GPAC and 11-11 overall. The Mustangs are now 15-1, 20-3. The Flames return to the court on Wednesday with a road game at Northwestern College.