COLUMBIA, Ky. -- Shooting just 30 percent from the field, the Lindsey Wilson women's basketball team couldn't get over the hump against St. Catharine (Ky.), losing 63-50 on Thursday at Biggers Sports Center.

Ashley Rainey continued to play like an All-American with 25 points and 21 rebounds, but Sarah Gillis was the next highest scorer with eight points, which wasn't enough to beat a Patriot team that hit seven threes and blocked seven shots.

Janae Howard led the charge for St. Catharine, scoring a team-high 21 points and pulling down nine rebounds. Reilly Poirier joined her in double figures down low with 10 points. Rianne Hofstraat shot 3-for-4 from behind the arc to finish with nine points.

Lindsey Wilson outrebounded St. Catharine 45-41 and shot a better percentage from the free-throw line, but a turnover advantage (16-11), combined with hot outside shooting never gave it a chance.

Litzinger hit a three early in the first half, but it was nothing in comparison to St. Catharine's early barrage of deep shots, hitting four threes in the first eight minutes. For the half, Lindsey Wilson finished with just the one three while the Patriots shot 4-for-10.

It was just a two-point deficit at 12-10 after Sarah Collins finished a layup for Lindsey Wilson, but St. Catharine went on an 8-0 run, highlighted by threes from Howard and Hofstraat to provide its cushion, taking a 32-23 lead into the break.

Without Rainey, it could have been a disaster for Lindsey Wilson offensively in the first 20 minutes. The senior went 4-for-5 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line for a double-double of 13 points and 10 boards.

Howard had a similar hot start for the Patriots with 11 points, but had pulled down just five boards as her team led the battle on the backboards 21-19. Turnovers also helped St. Catharine as the Blue Raiders gave it an 8-0 advantage in points off of giveaways in the half.

The second half didn't get any better for the Blue Raiders as St. Catharine went on to lead by as many as 23 points on a 3-pointer by Carol Ruiz-Lopez. Lindsey Wilson threatened to get within single digits late as a three from Gillis made the score 61-50 with 1:33 to play, but St. Catharine scored the last two points of the game on a Howard jumper to seal the win.

Lindsey Wilson, in need of wins in its last two regular-season games to earn a spot in the Mid-South Conference Tournament, returns to action at 2 p.m. CT on Saturday against Georgetown (Ky.).

This season, only the top eight teams in the league standings advance to the tournament. Currently Lindsey Wilson and Pikeville (Ky.) are battling it out for the No. 8 seed.