ORANGE CITY, Iowa – After an outstanding first half, short-handed College of Saint Mary couldn't maintain its level of play in the third quarter, and Northwestern College pulled away for a 102-60 Great Plains Athletic Conference basketball victory on Saturday at the Bultman Center.

The Flames were without their leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, Haley Debuse (10.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg), who was held out to an injury. Nonetheless, they battled to a 21-all tie after one quarter, with Meghan Keil leading the way with six points on a pair of 3-pointers. Ella Klusman added five points, and Jazmyne Villalobos and Madelyn Gaughen had four apiece.

CSM (1-16 overall, 0-11 GPAC) still trailed just 39-34 with 45 seconds left in the first half after Freda Moore's layup, two of her six points in the period. But Northwestern (12-5, 8-3) scored the final five of the half to lead 44-34.

"We started off strong, but Adriana (McGee) got hurt late in the first quarter and definitely hurt our rhythm,'' CSM Coach Natalie Miller said.

It got away from the Flames in the third quarter, as they were outscored 33-10 to fall behind by 33.

"We did a good job battling with their post early on, but fatigue got us down the stretch with the missing bodies and some foul trouble,'' Miller said.

Four Flames finished in double figures. Gaughen led the way with 13 points and five rebounds. Moore came off the bench with 12 points, while Villalobos and Maura Tichota pitched in 10 apiece, with Villalobos grabbing six rebounds and Tichota four.

CSM returns to action Wednesday in Fremont, Neb., with a 6 p.m. GPAC matchup against Midland University.