BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Freshman forward Kelsey Rogers scored 12 points and the Western Washington University women’s basketball team battled close against No. 6 nationally-ranked Alaska Anchorage but came up short, falling 64-54 Sunday on WECU Court at Carver Gym in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

WWU (6-6, 2-2 GNAC) overcame a first-quarter deficit to lead during a back-and-forth second quarter but the Seawolves (12-1, 5-0 GNAC) outscored the Vikings 15-8 in the third period to pull away from a 37-33 halftime lead and held off the Vikings in the final quarter.

UAA led throughout the first quarter, though the Vikings kept the deficit within single digits and trailed 20-16 after the first period. Rogers (Bothell, WA/Lynnwood) came off the bench to score 6 of her points in the first quarter.

The Vikings battled back in the second quarter to take their first lead of the game at 27-26 on a jumper from Rogers with 4:02 to play. The second period featured six lead changes and two ties, all occurring over the last 4:02 of the quarter. Tied 32-32 with 2:08 to play, the Seawolves closed the quarter with a 5-1 spurt to lead 37-33 at halftime.

UAA outscored WWU 15-8 in the third quarter, building a 45-35 lead with 5:39 left. The double-digit lead was the result of an 8-0 UAA run after a jumper by sophomore center Anna Schwecke (Evergreen, CO/Colorado-Colo. Springs) that had brought WWU within 37-35 in the first minute of the period. The Vikings later cut the advantage to 47-41 on a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Lexie Bland (Ellensburg, WA) but a 5-0 UAA run closed the quarter to give the Seawolves a 51-41 lead.

The Vikings reduced the UAA lead to 55-50 with 5:06 left in the final quarter on a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Dani Iwami (Seal Beach, CA/Hawai’i Pacific) but were unable to further reduce the margin. WWU came with 6 points of the Seawolves twice with fewer than 2 minutes to play but UAA went 4-of-4 at the free throw line in the final minute while the last four WWU possessions of the game resulted in two turnovers and a pair of missed shots.

Six players finished with 7 or more points for the Vikings, led by Rogers who was 5-of-9 from the floor and came within a point of tying her career high while adding career-best totals of 3 blocks and 3 assists. Schwecke and senior forward Hannah Stipanovich (St. Louis, MO/MSU Denver) each totaled 7 points and 8 rebounds. Redshirt freshman guard Gracie Castaneda (Arlington, WA) scored 8 points and tied for the game-high with 4 assists while Iwami and freshman guard Emma Duff (Tumwater, WA/Black Hills) each contributed 7 points as well.

The Vikings shot 21-of-56 (37.5%) from the field, and made 5-of-20 (25.0%) of their 3-point attempts. The Vikings were also 7-of-14 (50.0%) at the free throw line.

The Seawolves were led by guard Yazmeen Goo with career-high totals of 14 points and 7 steals. Forward Shelby Cloninger added 12 points and a career-best 12 rebounds for UAA and guard Kaitlyn Hurley scored 10 points off the bench to give the Seawolves three players in double figures scoring.

UAA was 22-of-66 (33.3%) from the floor, making 4-of-16 (25.0%) 3-pointers. The Seawolves were 16-of-20 (80.0%) at the line. UAA outrebounded WWU 46-32, grabbing 23 offensive rebounds to help score 16 second-chance points.

After playing their last four games at home, WWU will travel for its next two contests. The Vikings face Concordia next Thursday (Jan. 4) at 5:15 pm before opposing Western Oregon at 5:15 pm on Saturday (Jan. 6). The Vikings have 999 all-time victories in program history and will look to reach the 1,000 wins milestone next week. The road games can be followed with live stats and video via WWUVikings.com/Live.

Game Notes: WWU is 999-347 (.742) all-time in its 47-year history, a win shy of reaching 1,000 all-time wins to become the 15th team in women’s college basketball history to reach the mark (according to available NCAA and NAIA records)…Vikings were held to their 3rd-lowest field goal percentage during the season but also held the Seawolves to their 2nd-lowest field goal percentage of the season…Kelsey Rogers came within a point of tying her career high in points while setting career-best totals with 3 blocks and 3 assists.