FREMONT, Neb. – The Flames kept their playoff hopes alive Wednesday night with a big win over Midland University.

College of Saint Mary defeated the Warriors 82-72 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference contest.

"This is a big win for us," CSM Coach Kirk Walker said. "It keeps us alive for a conference tournament berth. It was pretty much do or die for us and we came up big.

"This is also the first time we've beaten Midland since I've been here."

The Flames jumped out to a 23-11 lead after the opening quarter and held a 46-31 advantage at the intermission. The Warriors went on a run and outscored CSM 24-13 in the third quarter, but the Flames bested the host team 23-17 in the final frame to secure the win.

Alyssa Marsh-Contreras (SR/Omaha, Neb.) led all scorers with a game-high 28 points for CSM. That was a career-high night for her while playing for the Flames. She also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

"Alyssa had a great game," Walker said. "This is the kind of player she is. She just took the game over for awhile there. There was one point when Midland brought it within three points and Alyssa hit back-to-back 3's to give us the momentum."

Also for CSM, Sidney Anderson (FR/Omaha, Neb.) had 17 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Teammate Honnah Leo (SO/Omaha, Neb.) added 13 points and seven rebounds, while Allison Schubert (SO/Council Bluffs, Iowa) tossed in 10 points and pulled down six boards.

"We got four players in double figures tonight," Walker said. "And everyone that played for us tonight scored so we had good balanced scoring."

The Flames are now 6-13 in the GPAC and 12-13 overall. Midland falls to 4-15, 8-18.

College of Saint Mary returns to action at 2 p.m. Saturday with Concordia University in town. The Flames will also be celebrating Marsh-Contreras for Senior Day at the game.