The Baker University women’s basketball team’s struggles continued Saturday at Lindenwood University, as the Wildcats have lost three of their last four games.

Baker lost to Lindenwood 76-62 and was 12-10 overall and 7-5 in the HAAC going into competition Thursday.

The Wildcats’ loss came after a close 64-61 win against Benedictine College on Jan. 27.

The Ravens entered the game short-handed after their leading scorer, Candice Akers, was dismissed from the team for an undisclosed reason. Akers was averaging 10.42 points per game.

Baker led 36-35 at halftime and was able to hold on to the lead down the stretch. The ‘Cats had 41 rebounds, 11 turnovers and shot 67 percent from the free-throw line.

Senior Aubree Gustin had 18 points and went 4-4 from the free-throw line. Seniors Emily Gibson and Brittany Hines also were in double figures with 13 points apiece.

Junior Rae Lynne Stewart also came up with four points on 2-2 shooting, and Gibson has been impressed with the way she has been playing.

“Rae Lynne Stewart stepped it up a lot,” Gibson said. “She hadn’t been playing much, but she got some good minutes and really stepped up.”

Despite the victory against Benedictine, the Wildcats’ defense couldn’t contain Lindenwood. The Lions had five players score in double figures.

“We just kind of were stuck on the offensive end and our whole defense wasn’t there like it should’ve been,” Hines said.

Gibson, who led the team with 25 points and had eight rebounds, and has scored 25 points in two of the past three games, agreed with Hines.

“We couldn’t really convert a lot of things on the offensive end and they just would take advantage of it and score,” Gibson said. “We didn’t really play that great of defense, either.”

Gibson shot 100 percent from the free-throw line on five shots, while the team as a whole shot 71.4 percent from the charity stripe.

The Wildcats also had 29 rebounds and 20 turnovers. Hines was the only player, aside from Gibson, to score in double digits with 12 points.

Head coach Susan Decker said a few of the problems against Lindenwood were the team’s foul trouble and poor defensive effort.

“We sent them to the free-throw line way too many times,” she said.

Decker also said that throughout the season, one of the problems the team has had is playing consistently throughout the entirety of a game.

“Right now the conference is so tied, the third through seventh spot, maybe even the second spot, is really up for grabs,” Decker said. “We’ve got to find that consistency and be really ready to go night in and night out.”

The team is trying to avoid another late-season funk, and gain momentum going into the HAAC Tournament.

Baker got off to a 12-3 start in the HAAC last season before losing six straight games and finishing conference play 13-7.

The Wildcats played Central Methodist University at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in Fayette, Mo., however, results weren’t available at presstime.

After Thursday’s matchup with Central Methodist, the Wildcats will have seven games left in the regular season before they compete in the HAAC Tournament.

Baker will face the current HAAC front-runner Evangel University at 2 p.m. Saturday in Collins Center.