Western Washington played like it had something to prove Saturday against the No. 3 UAA women's basketball team, and it showed. The Vikings shocked the Seawolves 71-62 Saturday in Bellingham despite launching 11 fewer shots.
Jenna Buchanan scored 18 points for UAA but she struggled from 3-point range, going an uncustomary 2 of 8 from beyond the arc. The Seawolves (12-1, 1-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) shot 34.4 percent from the field.
UAA led Western Washington (5-3, 2-0) by as much as nine in the first half, but couldn't shake the Vikings and went into the break leading 32-25.
The lead quickly melted in the third quarter. The Vikings stole the momentum with a 10-3 run to tie the game at 35-35 and outscored UAA 24-10 in the quarter to take a seven-point lead at 49-42.
The resilient Seawolves responded late in the fourth quarter when a Keiahnna Engel 3-pointer cut the Vikings' lead to 62-59 with 50 seconds in the game.
UAA had to foul to stay in the game and Western Washington made 9 of 10 free throws in the final 40 seconds to destroy any chance at a Seawolf comeback.
The lone bright spot for UAA was forward Hannah Wandersee's play off the bench. The 6-foot-1 freshman scored 16 points shooting 5 of 7 from the field and going 6 of 6 from the line.
Kayla Bernsen's 19 points fueled Western Washington. Tia Briggs and Taylor Peacocke added 18 and 16 points, respectively, and the Vikings shot 80 percent from the free-throw line.
The loss is UAA's first to a Division II opponent this season. Close exhibition losses to Division I teams UNLV on Nov. 9 and Western Kentucky on Nov. 25 in the Great Alaska Shootout championship only strengthened UAA's position in the national polls throughout the year.
The loss ended UAA's school-record 13-game road winning streak and keeps the team tied with the 2006-07 and 2014-15 squads for the best start to a season.
Next up, the Seawolves return to Anchorage for a Saturday game against UAF at the Alaska Airlines Center.