ANCHORAGE (Feb. 28) - Senior center Bell Jordan continued her dominant play in the middle, but it wasn't enough to help the UAA women's basketball team pull a monumental upset as the Seawolves fell 83-75 to 11th-ranked Western Washington at the Sports Center tonight.

Jordan scored 17 of her 32 points in the first half to boost the Seawolves (5-21, 1-16 GNAC) to a 42-33 halftime lead, but WWU (22-4, 15-2) got hot from three-point range in the second half to avoid a potentially damaging loss.

Jordan also pulled down a game-high 14 boards as she equaled her career-bests in both scoring and rebounds. It was the third time in five games the Stockton, Calif., native put up 32.

The Vikings, who were led by center Jenn McGillivray's 17 points, hit 5 of 9 second-half threes after going just 1 for 8 in the first half. Forwards Tessa DeBoer and Stacey Miller chipped in 13 and 12 points respectively for WWU, which is fighting for a first-round bye in next week's NCAA Tournament.

Sophomore guard Tanya Nizich scored 18 points on 5-of-8 three-point shooting. It was the Juneau native's second-highest career point output and the most she's scored in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game. Her four steals were a career-high.

After trailing 31-28, the Seawolves closed the first half with a 14-3 run, and Jordan scored the first bucket of the second half to give UAA its biggest lead at 44-33. But the Vikings responded with an 11-0 run, tying it 44-44 on Julie Walker's three-pointer with 16:27 remaining.

The teams traded baskets for a few possessions, with Nizich forging a 51-51 tie on a three with 13:34 left. From there though, the Vikings opened it up, streaking to a 68-58 advantage over a six-minute span. The Seawolves rallied back to within 70-68 with 3:36 left, but could get no closer as the Vikings clinched the game at the free throw line.

UAA freshman forward Jen Stoddard had a solid outing with 14 points (4-7 FG, 6-6 FT) and seven rebounds.

The Seawolves close their campaign Saturday against Seattle University. A pregame Senior Night ceremony will honor outgoing players Jordan, Stephanie Johnson and Diana Gundersen. Tip-off is 7:05 p.m. at the Sports Center.