This week...
Thr.-Sat., Mar. 8-10 -- NCAAWOMEN'S BASKETBALL WEST REGIONAL, Kellogg Gymnasium, Pomona, Ca.
     Thr., Mar. 8 -- ALASKA FAIRBANKS v CSU BAKERSFIELD, 5 p.m. (also WESTERN WASHINGTON v CENTRAL, 7:30 p.m.)
     Fri., Mar. 9 -- SEATTLE PACIFIC v Game 1 Winner, 5 p.m. (also CAL POLY POMONA v Game 2 Winner, 7:30 p.m.)
     Sat., Mar. 10 -- WEST REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, 7 p.m.

Complete Schedule

Pomona reprise...
Yet again the Seattle Pacific University women's basketball team finds itself in the thick of March Madness, earning a fifth straight berth in the NCAA Division II tournament, and for the second year in a row their immediate destination is Pomona, Ca. The 19th-ranked Falcons (23-4), winners in 12 of their last 13 games, are seeded No. 2 in the West Region and earned a first-round bye. They will begin play Friday night (Mar. 9) against the winner of Thursday's (Mar. 8) first-round game between Alaska Fairbanks (19-8) and Cal State Bakersfield (21-6). Top-seeded and 12th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona (22-3) is the host institution. Western Washington (20-7) and Central Washington (20-7) complete the field.

48 teams in all...
Altogether, the NCAA bracket is comprised of 48 teams spread across eight regions. The West Region champion, to be determined Saturday night (Mar. 10), will advance to the Elite Eight in Rochester, Minnesota, Mar. 21-24. They will face the Northeast Region representative in the national quarterfinal round. Unbeaten Columbus State, Ga., (28-0) is ranked No. 1 in the nation and Northern Kentucky is the defending national champion.

Ticket information...
General admission tickets for the tournament are $8, students $4 and $3 for children or senior citizens. For information on tickets, call (909) 869-2816.

California, here we come...
Seattle Pacific overcame the loss of two starters to injuries to claim the Pacific West Conference championship for the third time in five years, finishing with a two-game lead over Western Washington, the defending regional champion. SPU has gone to the NCAA tournament six of the last seven years. In all, four PacWest teams made the regional. The Falcons, bidding for their first Elite Eight advancement since 1998, swept Fairbanks but both games were decided by two points. They split with Western and lost two games to Central. Interestingly, Cal State Bakersfield qualified in its first season of play.

Keepin' it together...
His roster decimated by injuries, it's no wonder Falcon Coach Gordy Presnell (14th year) was a near-unanimous choice as PacWest coach of the year. Presnell was the choice on 10 of 11 ballots in taking the award for the fourth time since 1995. He had just nine players in uniform for the eight of the last nine games. The Falcons lost top rebounder and No. 2 scorer Kristin Poe (So., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa.) to a knee injury in mid-December and point guard Kerie Hughes (So., 5-6, Mount Vernon, Wa.) to a similar injury Feb. 1. Originally thought to be lost for the season, Hughes returned to play 11 minutes of the regular season finale, albeit with a brace supporting the left knee.

A Hungarian All-America?...
Of course, Presnell will be the first to tell you he didn't score a single basket. Players win games and without a doubt the top player for Seattle Pacific is forward Gyongyver "Gus" Balogh (Sr., 5-11, Szombathely, Hungary), who became the school's first PacWest player of the year. Balogh was the conference's No. 2 scorer (18.0) and currently stands as a top prospect for all-district and All-America honors. She ranks No. 4 in career scoring, No. 2 in free throw accuracy, No. 3 in 3-point marksmanship and No. 5 in career field goal percentage. Balogh also becomes the first SPU player ever to be chosen all-conference four times.

Ugotta have a Urrutia...
The only other player chosen to the all-conference team was guard, Stephanie Urrutia (So., 5-9, Sunnyside, Wa.), who brilliantly filled the void left by the injury to Hughes. Urrutia capped the regular season with her fourth double-double, posting 15 points and 10 rebounds in an unexpected 68-39 romp over Western Oregon. In the final nine games, she averaged 6.0 assists, 7.0 rebounds and 12.2 points but, more importantly, demonstrated a confident, take-charge persona in the latter stages of tight games.

Been there, done that...
Balogh is one of four seniors who were part of the program when the Falcons won the 1998 regional. Balogh was the top reserve while Jana Holme (Sr., 6-1, Tacoma, Wa./Wilson), Liz Guppy (Sr., 6-3, Beaverton, Or./Westview), now fellow starters on the frontline, came off the bench as well. Kirsten Daniel (Sr., 5-7, Florence, Or./Siuslaw) was an injury redshirt that season. Guppy became the school's all-time leader in blocked shots with a late swipe versus Western Oregon. She had 11 blocks in the final two games of the regular season.

Put-backs...
Valerie Gustafson (Fr., 6-0, Olympia, Wa./Black Hills) totaled 26 points in the wins over the weekend, but more impressively, she pulled down 13 rebounds...Stacie Lukkes (Kent, Wa./Kentwood) yanked down eight boards against the Wolves...Holme nearly registered a double double against Humboldt with 13 points and nine boards...Brianne Prescott (Jr., 5-7, San Jose, Ca./Mitty-San Jose CC) scored 16 points in the wins but was unusually cold from beyond the arc, connecting on just 3 of 10 attempts...Guppy passed Caroline Pfiel (1986-90, 213 blocks) for the career record. She's also No. 10 in career rebounding.

PacWest chart...
SPU is first in conference scoring margin (+15.5), assists (19.07) and field goal percentage defense (.348) and second in field goal shooting (.450). The Falcons are third in free-throw shooting (.717), scoring offense (76.0), and steals (10.89)...Individually, Urrutia is sixth in PacWest steals (2.33), 8th in assists (4.19) and assist to turnover ratio (1.70), and 13th in scoring (12.0)...Balogh ranks No. 2 in scoring (18.0), ninth in field-goal percentage (.505), eighth in free-throw percentage (.791), and tenth in three-point percentage (.387)...Guppy is No. 4 in blocks (2.2)...Hughes, who merited honorable mention in the all-conference balloting, finished the regular season at and No. 1 in steals (3.0), No. 2 in assists (5.9) and No. 9 in free-throw percentage (.789)...Gustafson is eighth in field goal percentage (.508).

Opponent, series notes...
The Falcons downed the Nanooks 75-73 at home Jan. 13 and won 53-51 in Fairbanks Feb. 15. They lead the series 27-11 with four straight wins. The Nanooks have never beaten SPU outside of Alaska. While Cal State Bakersfield is a newcomer on the scene, its coach and players are not. Greg Bruce was a longtime coach at Portland State and the Roadrunners' No. 2 scorer, Audrie Magdaleno (19.3), played at Western New Mexico last season. Amanda Baker, another transfer, is the nation's No. 2 scorer (21.8).

S-P-U on the W-E-B...
You can follow Seattle Pacific via the world wide web. The Falcons Online features weekly releases, rosters, schedules, updated results, histories and coaching profiles for all 12 varsity sports. You're already here!

PacWest Conference Standings

Personnel notes...
No Player Yr-Exp Hgt '00 -01 stats Hometown Notes
12 Becka Beard So-1V 5-4 2.9/ 2.3 ast Bremerton, Wa. Started against Northwest Nazarene
20 Kerie Hughes* So-1V 5-6 8.3/6.0 ast Mount Vernon, Wa. Back after missing 8 games with knee injury
22 Kirsten Daniel Sr-2V 5-7 1.5/1.3 reb Florence, Or. Two assists at Saint Martin's
23 Brianne Prescott* Jr-TR 5-7 9.0/2.4 reb San Jose, Ca. 14 points at Central
24 Stephanie Urrutia* So-1V 5-9 12.0/5.7 reb Sunnyside, Wa. Double-double 15 pts. 10 rebs. against WOU
30 Stacie Lukkes So-1V 6-0 3.8/4.4 reb Kent, Wa. 10 points, 9 rebounds v Northwest C.
31 Kristin Poe So-1V 5-8 12.5/8.3 reb Enumclaw, Wa. Out for season with injured knee
32 Jana Holme Sr-3V 6-1 5.9/5.5 reb Tacoma, Wa. 14 rebounds against Northwest Nazarene
33 Gus Balogh* Sr-3V 5-11 18.0/5.0 reb Szombathely, Hungary Season high 28 points at Central
40 Liz Guppy* Sr-3V 6-3 7.8/5.7 reb Beaverton, Or. Career leader in blocked shots
42 Valerie Gustafson* Fr-HS 6-0 8.9/4.1 reb Olympia, Wa. Career-high 19 points v Humboldt
*projected starters
Coach: Gordy Presnell (Northwest Nazarene '83) 14th year (282-115) PacWest coach of the year in '95, '97, 98 & '01