ANCHORAGE (Feb. 9) - Rebecca Kielpinski scored a game-high 24 points and the UAA women's basketball team went toe-to-toe with the 8th-ranked team in the nation Thursday before dropping a 74-62 decision to Western Washington at the Wells Fargo Sports Complex.

UAA (9-11, 2-9 GNAC) also got 10 points apiece from guard Mari Riser and Limor Pelleg as they stayed within single digits of the Vikings until the final seconds. WWU (20-1, 12-0), which had beaten its last six opponents by an average of 29.6 points, was led by 18 points from center Courtney Clapp and 17 points from guard Kelly Dykstra.

The Seawolves came out hot, building a 16-7 lead on a Sarah Jones feed to Kielpinski with 11:33 remaining in the first half. WWU answered with an 11-0 run of its own, but the game stayed tight with nine ties and 10 lead changes before halftime. Riser gave UAA a 30-29 lead with a running jumper in the lane right before the buzzer.

The Vikings came out focused for the second stanza, beginning with an 11-4 spurt to take the lead for good. UAA got within 49-45 at the 10:33 mark when Kelsey Larsen (7 points, career-high 8 assists, career-high 4 steals) broke free for a layup, but WWU would stretch its lead to 62-52 a few minutes later.

Kielpinski (11-18 FG, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals) kept the Seawolves within eight points of the visitors, 67-59, with one minute left, before the Vikings closed the contest with free throws.

Kielpinski and Pelleg led UAA with five rebounds each.

The Seawolves return to the WFSC on Saturday for another Great Northwest Athletic Conference game against Central Washington (5 p.m.).