BELLINGHAM, Wash. (Jan. 26) - The inside tandem of Bell Jordan and Jen Stoddard combined for 34 points as the UAA women's basketball team put a scare into 16th-ranked Western Washington before falling 72-54 at Carver Gym tonight.

UAA (4-14, 0-9 GNAC) held a 31-25 advantage at the break before falling behind midway through the second half. Forward Stacey Miller scored 20 of her game-high 25 points in the second half to boost WWU (15-3, 9-1).

Stoddard, a 5-11 forward from Olympia, Wash., recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Meanwhile Jordan, a 6-2 center, poured in 17 and grabbed 9 rebounds before fouling out with 6:57 to go and UAA trailing 50-46.

The Seawolves ended the first half with a 7-0 run, getting a three and two free throws from Stoddard sandwiched around a layup by fellow freshman Amber Nasby.
UAA held the conference-leading Vikings to 19.4 percent (5-31) first-half shooting, with Nasby accumulating all of her 6 points and 5 rebounds in the opening stanza.

But in the second, WWU forward Tessa DeBoer (18 points, 10 rebounds) and center Jenn McGillivray (25 points, 10-15 FG) also came alive, helping the Vikings end the game on a 26-8 run. The score had been tied at 46 with just 8:32 left. The WWU trio of DeBoer, McGillivrary and Miller combined for 60 of WWU's 72 points. No other Viking scored more than three.

Jordan made 9 of her 12 free throws, a team season-high, and point guard Laura Taborsky finished in double figures with 11 points. However, two Seawolves fouled out and UAA second-leading scorer Tanya Nizich (10.0 ppg) was held scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting.

UAA shoots for its first Great Northwest Athletic Conference win Thursday, Jan. 31, when it hosts Humboldt (Calif.) State at the Sports Center at 7:05 p.m.