ANCHORAGE – Jazzpher Evans and Nicole Pinckney scored 11 points apiece to spark a second-half rally for Alaska Anchorage, but the hosts could not capitalize on a strong defensive effort Saturday in a 62-52 women's basketball loss to No. 11 Western Washington at the Alaska Airlines Center.

The Seawolves (13-7, 5-6 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) also got 10 points from senior guard Jahnna Hajdukovich as they lost despite shooting a season-best 94 percent (15 of 16) on free throws.

The league-leading Vikings (16-2, 10-1) got a game-high 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting from All-America candidate Brooke Walling, who also added six rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. Carley Zaragoza had 10 points off the bench for the defending NCAA Div. II runners-up, who were held to their third-lowest scoring total of the season despite solid 49 percent (24 of 49) shooting.

"I thought we defended well for the most part on the perimeter, but they are such a strong interior passing team, and they just killed us down low with their execution," said UAA head coach Ryan McCarthy, whose team was outscored 30-16 on points in the paint. "One thing I could not fault tonight was our effort, though, and we will try to keep some positive momentum going forward from that."

After getting blown out 104-51 in the first meeting in Bellingham on Dec. 29, the Seawolves kept contact all night against the Vikings, trailing 33-23 at halftime and 48-40 after three quarters.

Pinckney nailed a three-pointer off a pass from Evans to draw within 48-44 with 9:16 left, but Walling, Katrina Gimmaka and Zaragoza answered with consecutive layups, and the visitors led by at least eight the rest of the way.

Two nights after sinking the game-winning shot in UAA's win over Simon Fraser, Pinckney finished with 5-of-10 marksmanship, plus three rebounds and three assists. Evans also had three assists and two steals, and sophomore forward Kate Robertson grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.

The Seawolves return to the Alaska Airlines Center next week for a single game, facing Alaska Fairbanks on Sat., Feb. 4 at 5:15 p.m. Surf to GoSeawolves.com for tickets, live video and live stats links.