Post-turkey tourney. Forget about setting tables, washing dishes or getting the holiday shopping started, the Seattle Pacific University women's basketball team has a jam-packed early-season schedule which needs tending. The Falcons (2-0), 15th-ranked and coming off two impressive performances last weekend, play three times in four days before beginning Great Northwest Athletic Conference play next week. SPU travels across Lake Washington to face Northwest College (1-2) Wednesday (Nov. 27) and then hosts the Falcon Classic Friday and Saturday (Nov. 29-30). California's Westmont College (3-3) is the opposition for the home opener and Pacific Lutheran (1-0) is next. The Falcons travel to Humboldt State Dec. 5.

Now you see 'em. It's been nearly nine months since their last home game and it will be 34 days before the next home stand begins. But amidst these sporadic appearances at Brougham Pavilion there is one constant: the Falcons just keep on winning. In fact, they bring a school-record, 20-game home win streak into the Westmont contest. The average margin in those games has been 23.0 points and only three outcomes have been closer than 10 points. It's a streak which dates back to Jan. 18, 2001 and before that they had won 13 in a row. This weekend's games are the only home dates for the Falcons until Jan. 4. Seven of the first nine games are on the road or at neutral sites.

Center of attention. It's a new season but center Kelley Berglund (Sr., 6-3, Port Angeles, Wa./Washington State) has resumed her knack for having her best performances when her team needs it most. Against 18th-ranked North Dakota State, Berglund notched her ninth career double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds in the 70-67 victory. Fourteen of those points came in the second half, including seven in the final 5:15 as the Falcons went on a 13-7 run down the stretch. Berglund, limited to 24 minutes due to early foul trouble, converted 10 of 16 field goals. She played sparingly the next night as SPU quickly overwhelmed Colorado Christian (93-44) yet still cemented tournament MVP honors with 11 points, eight boards and a career-high six assists. Berglund was also selected as GNAC player of the week for leading her team to the Lynda Goodrich Classic title.

Bench carries its weight. To avoid a late-season letdown such as last year, Coach Gordy Presnell is deliberately conserving the team's resources and giving his key players some rest. Such was the case last week as all 12 players saw action with 11 scoring. In the 49-point thumping of Colorado Christian, the reserves actually outscored the starting five, 52-41. Backup point guard Mandy Wood (Fr., 5-6, Port Angeles, Wa./Port Angeles) led all players with 16 points (6-7 FGs) and seven assists in 22 minutes. Carli Smith (Fr., 5-11, Spokane, Wa./Valley Christian) and Michelle Beaumont (So., 5-11, Bellingham, Wa./Sehome) added 11 points apiece while Brittney Kroon (Fr., 6-4, Wasilla, Ak.) had eight. The bench also held its own against NDSU with Stacie Lukkes (Sr., 6-0, Kent, Wa./Kentwood) relieving Berglund for 20 minutes, scoring five points.

Two-pronged point. Presnell certainly has a capable cast of point guards. Starter Kerie Hughes (Sr., 5-6, Mount Vernon, Wa.) joined Berglund on the all-tournament team with a solid game (nine points, five assists, only two turnovers) vs. North Dakota State, plus similar numbers then next night vs. CCU. For the weekend she was 6-12 from the floor, 3-6 on three-pointers and had 11 assists against only four turnovers. Wood averaged 9.5 points and 5.0 assists and also converted 4-5 treys.

Solid starters. Stephanie Urrutia (Sr., 5-9, Sunnyside, Wa./Sunnyside), the backcourt mate of Hughes, could have easily made the all-tournament team as well, averaging 11.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals in the two games. Kristin Poe (Jr., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa.) missed 10 of 11 shots in the opener yet still contributed seven boards (four offensive), five assists and three steals. Valerie Gustafson (Jr., 6-0, Olympia, Wa./Black Hills), the other starting forward, totaled eight steals for the tournament.

Put-backs. Seattle Pacific shot 60 percent (19-32) vs. Colorado Christian, marking the first time it has hit that plateau since the 1997-98 opening game...After hitting 74.5 percent from the foul line last season, the team began just 19-33 (58 percent)...Berglund is the early leader in GNAC rebounding (10.5), with eight of those grabs coming off the offensive glass...The Falcons out-rebounded a fairly big NDSU team 45-34 and were a plus-20 for the weekend...Mackenzie Duffin (So., 6-2, Kent, Wa./Kent-Meridian) will redshirt this season to preserve her three remaining years of eiligibility. Duffin played in 20 games as a freshman...SPU last hosted a women's tournament in 1999-00. It won both that and the previous season's Falcon Classic...Western Washington fell to North Dakota State 100-80, giving the Falcons perhaps an early edge in the regional rankings. The 10th-ranked Vikings are the fourth team in this week's tournament and will play at 5 p.m. each day...There will be a 34-day break between home games as the team is on the road for all five games in December...Poe needs 57 rebounds to break into the career top 10.

SPU Coaches. Coach Gordy Presnell reached the 300-victory milestone last season and has never registered a losing season in 15 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 11 times, including an Elite Eight appearance in 1998. Joining Presnell's staff this season are two former University of Oregon players. Lindsey Dion served as a volunteer graduate assistant last season when the Ducks won the WNIT title. She played on Oregon's Pac-10 championship team in 2000 and was co-captain of another NCAA tournament team in 2001. Jamie Craighead completed her career last season as Oregon's leader in three-pointers and started all 35 games, averaging 7.9 points.

Missing links. For the latest and best information on Seattle Pacific University athletics, stay where you're at -- on The Falcons Online. For updated standings and statistics, see the Great Northwest Athletic Conference web site.