OMAHA, Neb. – The College of Saint Mary basketball team trailed by as many as 12 points in the third quarter but battled back to pull out a big win Friday night.

The Flames defeated Waldorf University 67-63 in the second game of the CSM MH Hospitality Classic. In the earlier game, Haskell Indian Nations University beat York University 60-47. It was the season opener for all four teams.

"This was a great win to start the season," CSM Coach Kirk Walker said. "We haven't been able to do much in practice – full court or 5-on-5 – due to our injury situation so we weren't sure what it would look like tonight. Our ladies really stepped to the plate and everyone scored for us tonight. We still have some players coming back from injury who will contribute even more once they get a little healthier and in better shape."

Waldorf led 20-13 after the first quarter but the Flames rallied to outscored their opponent 16-9 in the second quarter to go into the intermission with a tie game. Waldorf then bested CSM 24-18 in the third quarter before the Flames outscored the Warriors 20-10 in the fourth quarter for the win.

Perhaps the biggest shot of the night came with 1:09 remaining when CSM's Tia Murray hit a 3-pointer to break the tie and give the home team a 62-59 lead.

Murray had a game-high 21 points for the Flames. Teammate Madison Camden scored 16 points and Madison Guzman added 11. Camden and Murray both led CSM with nine rebounds each. Madelyn Gaughen had a career-high seven assists.

"Tia Murray and Madison Camden scored it like I knew they could," Walker said. "Madison Guzman, in her first college game, was really solid with zero turnovers in 34 minutes of play. And Madelyn Gaughen had a career-high in assist for us. 

"We need to be more efficient shooting from the perimeter but that will come. I knew we would give great effort no matter what. We were down 12 at one point in the second half but managed to fight back and we shot 81 percent from the line in clutch moments in the fourth quarter.  I'm proud of this group and look forward to getting after it again tomorrow."

The Flames face York University at 6 p.m. Saturday. The 4 p.m. game features Haskell vs. Waldorf.