FOREST CITY, Iowa – Jai'La Porter scored 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting and College of Saint Mary snapped a 46-game Great Plains Athletic Conference losing streak with a 73-67 victory over Waldorf University on Saturday at Hanson Fieldhouse.

"I'm very happy with it,'' CSM Coach Natalie Miller said. "Overall, we just did a great job of pushing in transition and getting downhill.''

The Flames improved to 2-7 overall and 1-2 in GPAC play, while Waldorf dropped to 0-7 and 0-3.

CSM broke the game open early in the third quarter. The Flames went on a 16-0 run sandwiching the halftime break, turning a 37-35 lead into a 53-35 bulge. They held the Warriors scoreless for more than five minutes during that burst, with Lexi Barnes scoring six of those 16, with Porter adding four, and Ella Klusman and Madison Keil three apiece.

The Flames still led by 16 with 90 seconds left before Waldorf made a late charge. CSM made 1 of 6 free throws in the final minute, allowing the hosts to go on an 11-1 run.

The closest Waldorf drew was five, but Haley Debuse split a pair of free throws with 4.9 seconds left to move the final margin to six.

"That fourth quarter, had it been a little bit longer, I would have been scared,'' Miller said. "We kind of fumbled with the pressure and not handling that end-of-game situation very well.''

CSM had enough cushion to notch its first GPAC win since a 58-45 victory at Mount Marty University on Feb. 18, 2023.

Porter led the way with her 23 points, coming on a variety of drives and pull-up jumpers.

"Jai'La had an incredible game,'' Miller said. "She was very efficient.''

Debuse added 12 points, five rebounds and three assists. Madelyn Gaughen contributed 11 points, six assists and two blocks, while sister Kathryn Gaughen grabbed 10 rebounds.

Barnes registered career highs in both points (nine) and rebounds (10).

"Lexi did a fantastic job,'' Miller said. "She was a big push for us in that third quarter. She sprinted the floor super well in transition and was hunting her cuts.''

College of Saint Mary shot 57.4% (27 of 47) from 2-point range, offsetting cold nights from 3-point range (2 of 13) and the free-throw line (13 of 29).

The Flames are back in action Tuesday at 6 p.m. with a home GPAC game against Midland University.