Red hot and rolling. Still unbeaten and ranked No. 2 in the nation among NCAA Division II women's basketball teams, Seattle Pacific University takes its act on the road for the next three games. The Falcons (4-0, 13-0) won't venture far from home but will be facing three teams from the upper division of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, beginning Saturday night (Jan. 18) at Central Washington (2-2, 7-4). Next week, SPU visits reigning GNAC champion Western Washington and crosstown rival Seattle University.

They wear it well. Never before have the Falcons started so strong, risen so high in the rankings or won by such comfortable margins (average of 27.2 points, fourth in the NCAA). Only one game, a season-opening 70-67 victory over North Dakota State (currently No. 4 in the nation), was decided by less than 14 points. But that trend is unlikely to continue as foes raise their game and look to make a name for themselves by taking a whack at the neighboring giant. Central Washington has been a particularly prickly nemesis for SPU. The Wildcats have won three of the last four meetings and are the last visitor to emerge victorious from Brougham Pavilion.

Another one bites the dust. The Falcons' dream season continued last week when yet another entry was erased from the record books. Not only was the mark for consecutive home wins extended to 26, but the Birds achieved their best-ever start and tied the record for overall consecutive wins at 13. Coach Gordy Presnell's 1997-98 team, which went 27-3 and reached the Elite Eight, had started 12-0. In 1996-97 Seattle Pacific won 13 straight in midseason. Last week it took about 17 minutes before the Falcons pulled away from Northwest Nazarene, going ahead by 39 before winning 95-75. They then walloped Saint Martin's 90-49 to complete a three-game home stand.

Seeing double. Going into last week, Seattle Pacific had four double-doubles to its credit. It's not that Presnell doesn't have the personnel capable of it, only that he's spread playing time evenly among his top 10 players. But nothing-not a shortage of minutes nor wins of blowout proportions-was going to stop the SPU frontline last week as they accounted for five double-doubles. For instance, reserve forward Carli Smith (Fr., 5-11, Spokane, Wa./Valley Christian) needed only 19 minutes to grab 19 rebounds and score 17 points versus Northwest Nazarene, and she notched another 11 points and 10 boards in 17 minutes against the Saints. Smith's efficiency earned her co-player of the week in the GNAC and the 19 rebounds ties for the No. 4 single game total in school history and No. 2 in the conference. Also seeing double were center Kelley Berglund (Sr., 6-3, Port Angeles, Wa./Washington State) and forward Valerie Gustafson (Jr., 6-0, Olympia, Wa./Black Hills). Each picked up 16 points and 10 boards against the Crusaders. Berglund posted her team-leading fifth double-double (15 and 11 in 17 minutes) versus the Saints.

Balancing act. Oddly, SPU is averaging 86.2 points per game (sixth in the NCAA) yet cannot claim a single individual among the 10 GNAC scoring leaders. Instead, it's balanced effort of seven players between 7-14 points, topped by Berglund's 13.7. Six different players have led the team in scoring this season, led by Berglund and Stephanie Urrutia (Sr., 5-9, Sunnyside, Wa.) with four apiece. It seems every offensive option is a good one: seven of the top 10 available players are hitting at least 47 percent of their field goals and the team, overall, is shooting 49 percent (ranking No. 8 nationally).

Beyond the numbers. The Falcons' offensive productivity puts opponents under tremendous pressure to score and the aggressive SPU defense only makes matters worse. Seattle Pacific leads the conference in three of the five defensive categories (field-goal percentage, both overall, .343,and three-point, .286, and steals, 14.1) and is No. 2 in the others (scoring, 59.0, and blocked shots, 4.85). None of the last four opponents have managed to shoot higher than 32 percent.

Put-backs. Seattle Pacific was No. 1 in the West Region last week, followed by Sonoma State, Montana State Billings and Central...Brittney Kroon (Fr., 6-4, Wasilla, Ak./Wasilla) posted her best numbers of the season vs. St. Martin's, finishing with 10 points, seven rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals in only 11 minutes. In just 8.2 minutes per game, Kroon leads the team in blocked shots with 14...Top-ranked South Dakota State won at North Dakota State, 77-72-the closest margin thus far. This week the Jackrabbits host South Dakota and visit Nebraska-Omaha...Seattle Pacific out-rebounded last week's opponents 119-69. It shot 51 percent while holding opposition to a combined 27 percent from the floor...The 11 blocked shots against the Saints was just one shy of the all-time mark set in 1996...Mostly due to up-tempo, transition games, the Falcons committed 52 turnovers last week...Kristin Poe (Jr., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa.), out for the past six games with a torn MCL in her left knee, is expected to return in another 2-3 weeks...Mandy Wood (Fr., 5-6, Port Angeles, Wa./Port Angeles) made a career-high five steals against St. Martin's...Offensively, the Falcons lead the conference in scoring (86.2), free-throw percentage (.760) and three-point accuracy (.405). They are second in field-goal percentage (.489) and rebounding margin. Individually, Gustafson is first in field-goal percentage (.629). Wood is first in three-point percentage (.700) and is No. 4 in overall shooting (.594). Michelle Beaumont (So., 5-11, Bellingham, Wa./Sehome) is No. 2 in both three-point percentage (.529) and free throw percentage (.889). Berglund is fourth in rebounding (8.7), fifth in field-goal shooting (.580) and blocked shots (1.00). Kerie Hughes (Sr., 5-6, Mount Vernon, Wa.) is fourth in assists (5.0) and 10th in free throw accuracy (.789). Kroon is fourth in blocks (1.08). Smith is fifth in free throw accuracy (.811), eighth in field-goal percentage (.550) and 10th in rebounding (7.2). Urrutia is seventh in assists (4.2) and eighth in blocked shots (0.77).

Tickets, please. General admission tickets for all SPU home games are priced at $5 with youth, students and senior citizens $3 with proper identification. Reserved seating for doubleheaders including men's games are $7 and $6. Groups or teams can qualify or discounts by calling (206) 281-2085 in advance.

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.