OMAHA, Neb. – Dordt University, the defending NAIA national champion and current No. 1 team in the nation, gave another display worthy of that status with a 98-47 Great Plains Athletic Conference victory over College of Saint Mary Saturday at the Lied Fitness Center.

"I want them to be able to handle the hard stuff well,'' CSM Coach Natalie Miller said. "I felt like there were moments tonight where we didn't handle the hard well.''

The Flames (1-3, 0-1 GPAC) did compete well at the outset, trailing just 14-9 through the first 4:25.

"I felt like we came out strong,'' Miller said. "I felt like we were locked in on defense and doing a good job.''

Eventually, Dordt's (5-0, 1-0) experience and depth won out. The Defenders led 25-12 after one quarter and 46-29 at the half.

Aleigha Jackson led the Flames with 11 points and three assists. Maura Tichota and Adriana McGee added eight points apiece.

Miller praised the defensive effort by Tichota and the rebounding by Haley Debuse, who led the team with five.

"Maura did a phenomenal job guarding,'' Miller said. "She was by far our best defender. Haley did a good job of boxing out. Those two did a really good job.''

The Defenders earned an 18-4 advantage on the offensive boards, resulting in a 29-2 edge in second-chance points. Janie Van Donge led Dordt with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

It's a long season, and Miller said her team is continuing to focus on improvement and teamwork.

"How can we have better player-to-player accountability, and handle it with toughness and know that we're all on the same team, wanting the same thing,'' she said.

CSM returns to action Wednesday at 7 p.m. with a GPAC game at Concordia.