Pivotal game. It's fitting that there's only one game on the docket for the Seattle Pacific University women's basketball team this week because it's a big one. Sole possession of second place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference will be at stake Saturday (Jan. 26) when the 10th-ranked Falcons (6-2, 14-3), winners of six of their last seven, visit Central Washington (6-2, 12-4). SPU returns home next week for a pair of conference games in Brougham Pavilion, beginning Jan. 31 versus Northwest Nazarene.

Wrong number. After dominating the series for several years, Seattle Pacific saw Central Washington turn the tables last year, sweeping the season series. Before that, the Falcons had beaten the Wildcats nine straight times from 1992-00. Despite its lofty national ranking, SPU can ill-afford another loss to Central because it already trails Western Washington by one game in the GNAC and it holds a precarious position of fifth in the region. Only the top six teams in the West receive NCAA Division II tournament bids in March with the top two teams receiving first-round byes.

Pivot(al) players. Saturday's game could be decided in the middle, where the top two centers in the league­Seattle Pacific's Kelley Berglund (Jr., 6-3, Port Angeles, Wa./Pt. Angeles-Washington State) and Central's Rose Shaw­will do battle. Berglund has been on a tear of late, averaging 20.7 points and hitting 66 percent of her field goals in the six games since Jan. 3. That includes a 33-point, 14-for-14 performance from the field at Anchorage. Berglund leads GNAC, shooting 59.9 percent, and ranks fourth in scoring (16.2) for the season. Her presence is vital to the team's success; in games where she has drawn four or more fouls the Falcons are only 2-3. She totaled just 23 points in the three losses. Central's pivot, Rose Shaw, leads the GNAC in scoring, averaging 17.7 points and is fifth in rebounding (8.1).

Presnell nears plateau. Coach Gordy Presnell enters the week just one win shy of the 300-victory milestone for his career. Presnell has guided the Falcons to 14 straight winning seasons and six NCAA playoff appearances in the last seven years. His record at SPU is 299-119 (a winning percentage of .715), including a 12-8 mark versus Central.

As close as it gets. Ellensburg will be as close as some SPU players will get to playing at home. Three members of the team, including two starters, hail from the 509 area code. Guard Stephanie Urrutia (Jr., 5-9, Sunnyside, Wa./Sunnyside), the team co-MVP as a sophomore, is the Falcons' No. 2 scorer (10.9) and playmaker (3.6 assists) and leads SPU in 3-pointers (17) and, surprisingly, blocked shots (13). Forward Emily Faurholt (Fr., 5-11, Kennewick, Wa./Kennewick), the state 4A prep player of the year in 2001, has started all 17 games and averaged 10.4 points and 5.8 rebounds. Reserve guard Jill Issacson (Jr., 5-8, Wenatchee, Wa./Wenatchee) transferred from Central College in Kansas and has appeared in seven games since recovering from sinus surgery.

Full recovery. After tearing her anterior cruciate ligament and missing all but six games of last season, Kristin Poe (So., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa./Enumclaw) is back where she started as one of the team's best young players. As one of just two Falcon players to have started in all 17 games this season, Poe has established herself as one of the most tenacious rebounders and reliable defenders on the squad. She recorded her second double-double of the season and the fifth in her career last week against Western Oregon with 13 points and 13 boards. Although she's shorter than three of the other starters, Poe is second on the team in rebounding (6.4). She also leads the team in steals (2.59), ranking fifth in the GNAC, and averages 8.6 points.

Put-backs. Forward Valerie Gustafson (So., 6-0, Olympia, Wa./Black Hills), usually the top frontcourt player off the bench, is expected back this week after missing last week with an ankle sprain...Stacie Lukkes (Jr., 6-0, Kent, Wa./Kent-Meridian) pulled down 14 rebounds­seven off both boards­and had three blocks in two games last week...The Falcons hit 30 of 38 free throws and were a plus-20 in rebounds in last week's wins...Only five of 17 opponents have managed to shoot 40 percent or better, and none has finished above 44 percent from the field...SPU is 13-0 when shooting better than 41 percent and 10-0 when scoring more than 71 points... As a team, the Falcons rank first in the GNAC in scoring (80.5), margin of victory (+20.8), free-throw percentage (.731), and rebounding margin (+9.5). The Falcons are sixth in Division II scoring, second in scoring margin, and ninth in field-goal percentage and rebounding margin...Individually, Berglund is ninth in GNAC rebounding (6.8). Kerie Hughes (Jr., 5-6, Mount Vernon, Wa./Mt. Vernon) is second in free-throw shooting (.892), assists (5.2) and 3-point percentage (.500) and fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.41). Urrutia is second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.78), fourth in blocked shots (0.8) and eighth in assists (3.6)

Opponents & series notes. SPU trails the all-time series with Central 26-21. The Falcons lost both meetings with the Wildcats last season, including a 71-62 defeat in Ellensburg. The Wildcats won nine straight to start the season, then dropped four straight and have now won four in a row. Shaw earned GNAC player of the week by totaling 41 points, 13 steals and 12 rebounds in two games.

SPU Coaches. Coach Gordy Presnell began the 2001-02 campaign needing just 15 wins to reach the 300-victory milestone. Presnell has never registered a losing season in 14 years at the helm of the Seattle Pacific University basketball program. He took a team that had not recorded a winning record in nine seasons or earned a trip to the postseason and transformed it into a Division II powerhouse. During his tenure, the Falcons have averaged more than 20 wins per season and qualified for the playoffs nine times, including an Elite Eight appearance in 1998. Lynne DeYoung is in her fifth season as an assistant coach under Presnell after recording a handful of three-point shooting records for the Falcons. Brett Hecko enters his first as an assistant coach this season.