OMAHA, Neb. – When your basketball program has lost 28 straight games, the things that winning teams take for granted can become a chore.

Showing up to practice hard every day. Keeping a positive attitude. Staying together.

First-year College of Saint Mary Coach Natalie Miller has seen all of those things, and that's why she couldn't have been more proud of her team on Thursday night.

The Flames emphatically snapped that 28-game skid, getting 24 points, six rebounds and five assists from Aleigha Jackson in a 73-60 nonconference victory over McPherson College in the second game of the CSM Classic at the Lied Fitness Center.

"Those ladies have done such a great job of climbing out of the mental hole that history has put them in,'' Miller said. "They deserve it because they fight every day. It is such a fight to change the mentality, to change the culture of the program, and they've done a phenomenal job of owning it and believing in themselves and taking the risk of believing in our team.

"Because it is, it's a risk to care and feel the negative emotions whenever you lose. But it's a fun one to feel it pay off today.''

CSM (1-2) saw a 15-point, first-half lead melt away to just three at 35-32 early in the third quarter, as the Bulldogs (0-1) went on an 11-0 run to get back into contention.

The Flames could have panicked. Instead, they got tougher.

Leading just 55-53 with 9:05 remaining in the game, CSM went on the game's decisive run, a 9-0 burst. Jackson accounted for eight of those nine points, scoring six and assisting on Maura Tichota's layup.

"Obviously we had some silly turnovers and sloppy fouls, but we did a good job of not being afraid of losing,'' Miller said. "I think in those situations you have teams that are either trying to win or just trying not to lose, and I think our ladies did a good job of trying to win. They made me so proud.''

Jackson scored 18 of her game-high 24 in the second half, after missing the Flames' last game to an injury.

"Having a certain someone healthy definitely helped,'' Miller said with a smile. "There's a lot of talented players that can't handle the pressure and responsibility of that talent. It's kind of the question of who wants the last shot. Aleigha wants that shot.''

Dating back to the 2022-23 season, CSM had lost 35 of its last 37 games. A few of the current players have been around throughout that dry spell, including one of the team leaders, junior Madelyn Gaughen, who had eight points despite battling foul trouble.

"It's just incredible,'' Gaughen said. "You can hear our bench energy. When we're watching film, you can hear us screaming for each other. We all want the best for each other. It's not selfishness out there. We play for each other. We win for each other.''

Meghan Keil added 11 points for the winners, while Adriana McGee pitched in nine points and six rebounds.

"At one point we had five freshmen in, but you couldn't tell,'' noted Gaughen. "They played their hearts out. They weren't scared. They were fearless. They came in there and showed them what's up.''

Peru State College and McPherson will wrap things up in the CSM Classic back here on Friday night at 6. CSM returns to action at 11 a.m. on Nov. 7 with an exhibition against the NCAA Division I Omaha Mavericks at Baxter Arena.