OMAHA, Neb. – When you're a competitor, a 19-point loss doesn't feel good.

However, when you consider the College of Saint Mary lost its two Great Plains Athletic Conference basketball meetings to Morningside University by margins of 43 and 54 points last year, it's important to keep perspective.

The Mustangs pulled away to beat CSM 92-73 on Saturday at the Lied Fitness Center, but in this meeting the visitors were required to work much harder for the win.

"I definitely feel like we're getting there,'' CSM Coach Natalie Miller said. "I'm not overly angry at this game. I feel like we've just continued taking steps. I saw glimpses of things we're trying to do different. I liked what I saw.''

Morningside (7-3, 4-2) stretched to a 52-32 lead early in the third quarter before CSM (3-9, 2-4) ripped off 11 straight points to get back within nine. Madelyn Gaughen scored nine of the 11 points during that surge, and Jai'La Porter had the other two.

However, Morningside made three 3-pointers over the next three minutes – two by Ali Albrecht, who finished 6 of 8 from deep on the day – to pull away again.

Gaughen, a 5-foot-9 senior, did her best to keep CSM close. She finished with a game-high 27 points, hitting 9 of 15 from the field and 9 of 10 from the line to go with six rebounds, four assists and two steals. She scored 19 of her 27 in the second half.

"Shout-out to G,'' Miller said. "She made great adjustments in the second half.''

Porter added 12 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals, and Haley Debuse had nine points and five rebounds.

However, 25 turnovers were too much to overcome for the hosts. Even though the Flames forced 21 turnovers, Morningside finished with a 31-16 edge in points off turnovers. The Mustangs also shot 15 of 30 from 3-point range and 13 of 15 (86.7%) from the line.

"I just think there were a few pieces that were just glaring mistakes,'' Miller said.

CSM returns to action Wednesday with a 6 p.m. GPAC game at Doane University.