SEATTLE (March 2) -- Kristin Poe's 12-point, 11-rebound double-double and seven points during a key second-half run lifted the 7th-ranked Seattle Pacific University women's basketball team over Central Washington 65-53 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game Saturday night at Brougham Pavilion.

The Falcons (14-4, 22-5), winners of six straight overall and 21 in a row at home, finished the season tied for second place in the conference by beating the Wildcats (14-4, 20-6) tonight. SPU outscored Central 18-9 in the first eight minutes of the second half led by a pair of field-goals and one three-pointer by Poe (So., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa./Enumclaw) to pull in front of the Wildcats for good.

In the final NCAA Division II West Region poll released on Thursday, the Wildcats and Falcons were ranked 5th and 6th, respectively. The top six teams in the region will receive playoff berths from the NCAA when the bracket is announced tomorrow night on Selection Sunday.

The Falcons re-captured the lead at the 16:05 mark in the second half and proceeded to stretch their lead to five points on a Poe three-pointer at 13:55. In the hustle play of the night at the 12:24 mark, Emily Faurholt (Fr., 5-11, Kennewick, Wa./Kennewick) hit the court after twisting her ankle, got back on her feet and ran the length of the floor to grab a steal, igniting a Falcon fast-break that resulted in a Kerie Hughes (Jr., 5-6, Mt. Vernon, Wa./Mt. Vernon) three-point play to give SPU a seven-point advantage.

Even without Jody Sargent who left the game in foul trouble at 11:08 in the second half, Central pulled to within one point of SPU, 43-42, with less than ten minutes remaining in the game. After a Falcon timeout, Valerie Gustafson (So., 6-0, Olympia, Wa./Olympia) gave SPU some breathing room with a three-point play off a feed from Stephanie Urrutia (Jr., 5-9, Sunnyside, Wa./Sunnyside). The Falcons largest lead of the game, 12 points, came with 16 seconds remaining on a pair of free-throws by Trisha Hermanson (Fr., 5-6, Buckley, Wa./White River).

SPU's Kelley Berglund (Jr., 6-3, Port Angeles, Wa./Washington State) also recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Hughes was the third Falcon player in double-figures with 12 points and a game-high six assists and three steals. The pesky Falcon defense allowed Central their lowest point total of the season at 53 points while picking up seven steals.

Sargent ignited the Wildcats offense in the first half, scoring the first seven points of the game for CWU and giving her team a quick 4-0 edge to start the contest. Sargent was five-for-seven in the first half for 11 points heading into halftime.

The Falcons responded to Sargent's first-half offensive barrage with a critical 9-0 run to take their first lead of the game at the 16:03 mark and the largest edge of the half for either team, six points, less than three minutes later. The Wildcats recaptured the lead at 15-13 with 11:14 remaining and never trailed again in the second half as the Falcons struggled from the floor on 26 percent shooting (8-for-31), compared to 50 percent in the second half.

Angela Jensen paced the Wildcats with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON -- Sargent 5-11 0-0 11, Martin 0-1 0-0 0, Shaw 6-10 3-4 15, Jensen 1-9 0-0 2, Kautzky 3-11 2-3 9, Liabraaten 4-9 0-0 12, Ellis 0-0 0-0 0, Dixon 2-7 0-0 4, Wells 0-0 0-0 0, Vincent 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-59 5-7 53.

SEATTLE PACIFIC -- Poe 4-7 3-4 12, Berglund 4-9 3-5 11, Hughes 3-10 5-5 12, Urrutia 1-5 2-2 4, Gustafson 4-11 1-1 9, Faurholt 2-5 2-2 6, Hermanson 2-6 2-2 7, Beaumont 2-5 0-0 4, Lukkes 0-1 0-0 0. totals 22-59 18-21 65.

Halftime--CWU 25, SPU 23. 3-Point goals--CWU 6-16 (Liabraaten 4, Sargent, Kautzky), SPU 3-8 (Poe, Hughes, Hermanson). Fouled out--none. Rebounds--CWU 33 (Shaw 12), SPU 45 (Berglund 12). Assists--CWU 11 (Kautzky 3, Dixon 3), SPU 13 (Hughes 6). Total fouls--CWU 20, SPU 13. A--725.