After losing to the Baker University women’s basketball team by 38 points earlier in the season, Graceland University gave the Wildcats a run for their money on Thursday in Collins Center.

Baker managed to come out on top once again with a 85-78 victory to complete the season sweep over the Yellowjackets.

“I hope that was a wake-up call for us,” head coach Ben Lister said. “We certainly didn’t play our best basketball, but it’s honestly nice to have a team win when they’re not playing their best and survive those types of games.”

Graceland is standing at last place with an 0-12 record in the Heart of America Conference while Baker improved to 8-3 in the HAAC and 15-8 overall.

“It’s tough emotionally to play a team that hasn’t won in the conference, and that you beat by (38) at their place,” Lister said. “We just wanted the (team) to understand what they’re doing and that they could get knocked off on any given night.”

Despite the lack of “mental intensity on the defensive end,” Lister felt that his team was in a rut against Graceland as the Wildcats’ leading rebounder, sophomore Rashida Simpson, was benched after violating team rules.

“We looked lost and a little timid all week during practice,” Lister said. “We seemed unsure of ourselves because we didn’t have that defensive and offensive anchor in the backline, and it showed tonight.”

With an average of nine rebounds per game, Simpson is a strong component that Lister hopes to get back in action.

As for Thursday night, senior Alisha Fanshier took on the leading rebounder role, pulling down a total of 10 boards on the night.

Fanshier completed her first double-double of the season, racking up 10 points as well. Three other Wildcats scored in the double figures, including senior Rece Huddlin with 15 points, and juniors Ciarra Washington and Shea Shoemaker with 14 and 11, respectively.

Looking forward to Saturday, the Wildcats will be back on their home court against Evangel University, a team that Lister thinks “plays really good defense and is really good in their execution.”

“If we can play better defense on their better players, we should be okay,” Lister said. “But (Evangel) is a team that’s been up and down. They’ve had some really good games and they’ve had some games where they haven’t showed up. We’re going to have to show up and play at home on Saturday.”

The game will take place at 2 p.m. in the Collins Center.