Defending high ground. Seattle Pacific University returns from a brief Christmas break this weekend to defend its No. 2 national ranking in women's basketball against the reigning NCAA Division II champions. The unbeaten Falcons (8-0) face No. 22 Cal Poly Pomona (2-3) Friday night (Dec. 27) and Cal State L.A. (3-2) Saturday (Dec. 28) in the GNAC/CCAA Challenge in Bellingham. Those games complete a stretch of five consecutive road games. The next home game is Jan. 4 versus Lewis-Clark State (9-4), No. 20 in NAIA.

How high can they climb? After climbing two more rungs on the national ranking ladder last week, the only question is whether Seattle Pacific can go higher still. Ranked higher than ever for the second week in a row, the Falcons know that the season's final poll is the most important yet a midseason No. 1 rating would be a fine feather in the cap of Coach Gordy Presnell. They had been No. 15 in the preseason rankings, then moved to No. 6 and No. 4 in subsequent polls. Top-ranked South Dakota State earned 18 of 19 first-place votes and owns the catbird seat for now (and until the next poll, scheduled for Jan. 8). The Jackrabbits face No. 4 North Dakota State Jan. 10. Not surprisingly, SPU was No. 1 in the first West Regional poll of the season.

Competitive field. This marks the second GNAC/CCAA Challenge, a rotating tourney which is designed to draw some of the elite programs from within the region for some quality non-conference matchups over the holidays. Following back-to-back national championships, Cal Poly Pomona has struggled while replacing four lost starters. Meanwhile, Cal State L.A. is coming off an upset of nationally-ranked Arkansas Tech Dec. 18 in Honolulu. Western Washington, the tourney host, is currently ranked No. 13. Last season's tournament was held in Pomona. Seattle Pacific is scheduled to host in 2004-05.

Beaumont bombs away. Receiving the green light from the coach is music to the ears of a long-ball gunner such as Michelle Beaumont (So., 5-11, Bellingham, Wa/Sehome). With Presnell's blessing, Beaumont let the rock fly in last week's impressive 81-64 road win over Lewis-Clark State. Beaumont was inserted into the starting lineup for the first time this season and responded with a career-best 21 points. She sank 8 of 11 field goals, including three-for-three from behind the three-point arc, and collected six rebounds. Beaumont has been blazing away on treys thus far, hitting 12 of 18 in the first eight games and she's now averaging 9.4 points. In the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, her three-point accuracy trails only teammate Mandy Wood (Fr., 5-6, Port Angeles, Wa./Port Angeles), who has made 13 of 17 (.765).

Back in the saddle. Timing could not have been more fortuitous for the Falcons when Trisha Hermanson (So., 5-6, Buckley, Wa./White River) was cleared to begin play after becoming academically eligible. Hermanson's return and a 13-day break between games allowed Presnell to shuffle his lineup in the wake of losing Kristin Poe (Jr., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa./Enumclaw) to a torn medial collateral ligament (MCL) in her left knee. Beaumont moved into the backcourt and Stephanie Urrutia (Sr., 5-9, Sunnyside, Wa.) shifted from guard to Poe's vacant post on the wing. Hermanson, the No. 3 guard as a freshman, played 18 minutes in her season debut at Lewiston. She struggled to hit her shot, going 1-6, but did pass for three assists before fouling out with four points.

Life on the blocks. With Beaumont and Wood stretching defenses to the extreme perimeter, more and more room materializes underneath the hoop. Forward Valerie Gustafson (Jr., 6-0, Olympia, Wa./Black Hills) and center Kelley Berglund (Sr., 6-3, Port Angeles, Wa./Washington State) are the prime operatives in that area, and they took advantage at L-C State. In the last three games, Gustafson has converted 14 of 17 attempts from the floor and strung together a pair of season-high performances. She notched 16 points at Humboldt and then 18 (6-8 FGs) in Lewiston. Berglund was 6 of 7 against the Warriors and had 12 points in 17 foul-plagued minutes. For the season, Gustafson is shooting 60 percent and Berglund 57 percent, ranking Nos. 4 and 8 in the GNAC. Berglund is the Falcons' top scorer (14.4) despite averaging just 19.4 minutes while Gustafson is No. 3 at 9.9.

Put-backs. By winning its first eight games, the team has topped the 7-0 start of 1989-90 and now has its sights set on the 12-0 mark set by the 1997-98 squad that won the NCAA West Regional...Carli Smith (Fr., 5-11, Spokane, Wa./Valley Christian) hauled down a season-best 12 rebounds in 21 minutes last week. She is averaging 6.0 boards and leads the team in free throw percentage (.810), ranking sixth in the conference...Urrutia pulled down a season-high nine rebounds and had six assists at L-C State...The Falcons remain the only undefeated team and lead the conference in scoring (85.2), scoring defense (57.5), scoring margin (27.8), free-throw percentage (.746), field-goal percentage (.491), three-point accuracy (.438), rebounding margin (+11.1) and steals (14.7). They are No. 2 in blocked shots (3.5) and field-goal percentage defense (.368). Individually, Wood ranks first in three-point percentage (.765) and field-goal percentage (.658). Berglund is eighth in scoring (14.4) and field-goal shooting (.566), fifth in rebounding (8.5). Kerie Hughes (Sr., 5-6, Mount Vernon, Wa.) is fifth in assists (4.6) and ranks second in assists-to-turnovers ratio (1.9). Brittney Kroon (Fr., 6-4, Wasilla, Ak.) is fifth in blocks (1.0). Poe is sixth steals (2.86) and Urrutia is sixth in assists (3.9).

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.