Suddenly outsiders. On the outside of the NCAA playoff picture looking in for the first time this season, the Seattle Pacific University women's basketball team is in must-win mode going into a pair of road games this week. The 15th-ranked Falcons (11-4, 19-5) complete their regular season road schedule by visiting Humboldt State (5-9, 7-15) Thursday (Feb. 21) and Western Oregon (7-7, 14-9) Saturday (Feb. 23). Next week features the regular season finale at Brougham Pavilion with the Falcons hosting Great Northwest Athletic Conference co-leader Central Washington.

On the bubble. For the first time all season, SPU is not among the top-six ranked teams in the West Region. The Falcons slid two places to No. 7 in last week's poll, which means that if the regular season ended today, they would miss the postseason for the first time since 1996. Central Washington moved ahead of the Falcons after upsetting Western Washington. Sonoma State, the No. 6 seed, strengthened its position with a big road victory at Cal State Bakersfield last week. For Seattle Pacific to crack the top six, it must win out and hope at least one other team stumbles in the final two weeks of the regular season.

Hot hands. Who had the hot hand for the Falcons last week at the pavilion? The better question is "Who didn't?" The Falcons shot a combined 52 percent from the floor in convincing home wins over Alaska Fairbanks (88-63) and Alaska Anchorage (80-69) on 70-135 shooting. That was great news for a squad which hit only one game of 50-percent shooting in its previous nine outings. Kelley Berglund (Jr., 6-3, Port Angeles, Wa./Pt. Angeles-Washington State) and Michelle Beaumont (Fr., 5-11, Bellingham, Wa./Sehome) each shot above 60 percent to lead the sizzling offense. Berglund was 16-for-26 for 62 percent from the floor while Beaumont was 12-for-20 (60 percent). The Falcons complemented their offense with tough play at the defensive end as well, holding their opponents last week to a combined 36 percent shooting. Only one foe has managed to shoot better than 44 percent this season.

Berglund back at it. Berglund led the Falcons' charge once again last week, reaching the 20-point mark in both games and recording her seventh double-double of the season. Against Fairbanks, she poured in a game-high 21 points only to follow it up with a 20-point, 16-rebound effort two nights later against Anchorage. Her 16 boards was the second career-high to come versus the Seawolves; she scored 33 points in the Jan. 10 win. Berglund has now reached the 20-point plateau in nine games and scored in double figures 19 times. Berglund is first in GNAC field-goal accuracy (.593), third in scoring (16.3) and seventh in rebounding (7.5), making her a top contender for conference newcomer of the year.

Backcourt of the future. Freshman guards Beaumont and Trisha Hermanson (Fr., 5-6, Buckley, Wa./White River) are playing key roles as early reserves for Coach Gordy Presnell. Hermanson is the only nonstarter to average more than 20 minutes per game (20.3). She has converted the second most 3-pointers (19) on the team and is third in assists (2.6). Hermanson is coming off a career-high nine assists against Anchorage. Beaumont makes excellent use of her minutes. She reached double-figures in both games last week, totaling 27 points in 32 minutes. That included 7-of-9 shooting and 15 points against Fairbanks.

Put-backs. Another victory would give Seattle Pacific its third consecutive 20-win season and the fifth in the last six years...The Falcons have now won 20 in a row at home and are 12-0 this season...Stephanie Urrutia (Jr., 5-9, Sunnyside, Wa./Sunnyside) continues a strong surge in February. In her last five games she has shot 57 percent from the field (9-18 outside the arc), averaged 14.4 points and passed for 23 assists with just 10 turnovers...Point guard Kerie Hughes (Jr., 5-6, Mount Vernon, Wa./Mt. Vernon) had a solid game vs. Fairbanks, connecting on all six of her field goals, including a trey, and scoring 14 points to go along with six rebounds and seven assists...With Central Washington's upset of Western, the GNAC title could come down to the final day of the regular season, when the Wildcats visit Seattle Pacific and Fairbanks hosts Western. The Falcons trail the co-leaders by two games in the loss column...Valerie Gustafson (So., 6-0, Olympia, Wa./Black Hills) totaled 10 points (4-6 FGs) and six rebounds in 25 minutes vs. Anchorage, her best statistical performance since Jan. 5...Stacie Lukkes (Jr., 6-0, Kent, Wa./Kentwood) has missed the last four games with a severe ankle sprain and is expected to be out this week as well...With Berglund on the bench in foul trouble against Anchorage, the conference's leading scorer, Bell Jordan, scored 32 points, the most for any SPU opponent this season. It was only the second SPU win in seven games that Berglund has finished with four or more fouls...Kristin Poe (So., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa./Enumclaw) and Emily Faurholt (Fr., 5-11, Kennewick, Wa./Kennewick) grabbed 12 and 10 rebounds, respectively, against Fairbanks...As a team, the Falcons rank first in the GNAC in scoring (80.6), rebounding margin (+9.3) and assist-to-turnover ratio (.92). The Falcons are sixth at the Div. II level in scoring, second in scoring margin, and ninth in field-goal percentage and rebounding margin...Individually, Hughes is first in free-throw shooting (.882), second in assists (5.2) and 3-point percentage (.463, 19-41) and fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.49). Urrutia is sixth in assists (3.7), third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.50) and fifth in blocked shots (0.87). Poe is seventh in steals (2.4) and sixth in rebounds (7.8).

Opponents & series notes. The Falcons have won 14 of 15 games against Humboldt State. SPU blasted the 'Jacks 77-49 at the pavilion Jan. 19, behind the 15 points of Berglund and Faurholt. The last time the Falcons lost to Humboldt was in 1993 in Arcata...SPU is 9-2 all-time against Western Oregon, including a 69-58 victory over the Wolves at home Jan. 17. Berglund led the Falcons with 18 points while Poe recorded a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double. Western Oregon allows only 60.1 points per game and features Heather Laats, the top rebounder (10.1) in the league.

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.