OMAHA, Neb. – The College of Saint Mary basketball team was hoping to head into the new year fresh off a victory. But the Avila University Eagles had other plans.

Avila defeated CSM 63-52 in a back-and-forth contest Saturday at College of Saint Mary. With the nonconference loss, the Flames drop to 1-11 while the Eagles improve to 3-9.

CSM started strong and led 11-10 after the opening quarter. Avila outscored CSM 17-14 in the second frame to lead 27-25 at the intermission. The Eagles bested the Flames by just one point in the third quarter, but Avila took control in the fourth frame and outscored CSM 22-14 to secure the win.

"We got off to a terrific start today, but couldn't sustain the energy," CSM Coach Kirk Walker said.

The Flames struggled offensively and shot just 29 percent for the afternoon. CSM shot 21 percent from 3-point range and 58 percent from the charity stripe. Avila shot 38 percent, 50 percent and 56 percent, respectively. College of Saint Mary performed well on the glass with 51 boards compared to the Eagles' 37.

"We outrebounded them on the offensive boards by 10 – which is something we have talked about and has been a point of emphasis," Walker said. "It was so much better today, but we only had three more second-chance points than they did out of those chances. We have to find a way to get easy baskets off those rebounds.

"We had to find a way to get some points off turnovers. They beat us by 17 there and that was the difference in the game. We played in a hurry in spurts and that is when we had too many empty possessions with poor and missed shots and then turnovers happen."

A positive for the Flames was the return of standout Sidney Anderson who recorded a double-double in her first game back. She had 11 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Teammate Madison Camden led CSM with 18 points and 11 boards. ShyAnne Mayhue had a big day with eight points, seven rebounds and six assists. Also for the Flames, Ava Schroeder scored seven and Chainey Thompson added six.

"Madison Camden really played well today," Walker said. "She had a double-double with three assists and only one turnover in 34 minutes which was awesome to see. It was also great to have Sidney back and knocking some rust off as she had a double-double with four blocks."

The Flames are off until Jan. 6 when they play host to Dordt University at 2 p.m.

"We have to get back in the gym, get in better shape and get a lot of shots up next week as we have the No. 1 team in the country coming in," Walker said.